Creating Synergies, Strengthening Interactions and Supporting Networks

2nd ESiA Lecture Tour

The EU Through the Eyes of Asia: The Case of China and Hong Kong

4-15 February 2008

Warsaw | Prague | Vienna | Budapest | Ljubljana | Cork

Relations between the European Union (EU) and Asia have expanded rapidly over the last decades. Since its enlargement in 2004, the EU has become the largest economy in the world. Similarly, the Asian economy is booming, including in the countries of East Asia that were affected by the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. The globalisation of the world economy means that the level of interdependence between the two regions is now at unprecedented levels. Strengthening EU-Asia relations is thus one of the EU's external policy priorities.

Discourse regarding the EU's strategy toward Asia has concentrated mainly on the promotion of trade, good governance, civil society development, bi-regional dialogue, as well as programmes on economic, commercial and development co-operation. In recent years, political and security co-operation have contributed to a wider spectrum of EU-Asia relations, presenting new opportunities for diplomatic maneuver. Certainly, what is needed is more than analyses of trade figures, tourist numbers, policy issues, common stances or areas of discord.  Thus, a key aspect of the European Commission's September 2001 Communication has been "to strengthen further the mutual awareness between Europe and Asia and to reduce persisting stereotypes."

 The two regions and indeed most of the world owe their sustained growth to the sheer size and appetite of the Chinese market. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of steel, the second biggest user of energy and the world's second-largest economy. In the context of its relations with the EU, China is the EU's second-largest trading partner, just behind the United States ; and the EU is China 's largest trading partner. It is therefore not surprising that contemporary EU-China dialogue is developing a much more prominent international profile than the EU's dialogue with the rest of Asia .

Trade and economic co-operation are of course a fundamental part of EU-China relations. However, the "comprehensive strategic partnership" - as it has become known - is based on much more than that. Yet, there is little information about how the EU is perceived in China . Further, given the conventional emphasis on the activities and importance of political elites, public perception of ordinary Chinese citizens toward the EU has received little attention.

This lecture sought to fill this gap by examining what Europe and the EU means to the citizens in China and Hong Kong , comparing the perceptions of the EU among the media, general public and elites. Key questions that were addressed include:

•  Is the EU a recognisable actor in the eyes the citizens of China and Hong Kong ?

•  What are the most mentioned images of the EU in China and Hong Kong ?

•  How would people in China and Hong Kong evaluate the current and future state of relationship with the EU?

•  How important is the EU to China and Hong Kong when compared to the United States and other neighbouring nations?

•  Has the enlargement process and other internal developments of the EU influenced how it is perceived by its Asian counterparts?

•  What are the major sources news and information about the EU in China and Hong Kong ?

•  Looking ahead, as the EU's relevance to China and Hong Kong is expected to grow, what are the opportunities and obstacles concerning the roles and expectations of the EU?

To the extent that EU political leaders pay attention to the various aspects of public perceptions in the process of policy formulation, this lecture will provide scientific and rigorous information regarding the attitudes and perceptions of citizens of two of the EU's long-term partners in the Far East . This lecture invited participants to ponder upon the strengths and weaknesses of European foreign policy, trade and development policy towards China and Hong Kong, and the emergence of China as a global player.

This lecture tour was organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation in partnership with the University of Warsaw, Charles University in Prague, the Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Corvinus University Budapest, the University of Ljubljana and the University College Cork.

Click on the links below to retrieve other relevant documents:

PowerPoint Presentation

Final Paper

1st ESiA Lecture Tour

The European Union through the Eyes of Asia: A Comparative Study of Media Perceptions

12-21 September 2006

Paris | Preston | Derry | Bristol | Pamplona | Brussels

According to Vice-President of the EU Commission Margot Wallström, an obstacle to creating a better connection between the EU and Europe 's citizens is a lack of any "common narrative" about the actual nature of European integration: "the real problem in Europe is that there is no agreement or understanding about what Europe is for and where it is going".

This absence of an EU roadmap or consensus on whether a federal "United States of Europe" is the end goal-or something else altogether-has created a confused and perplexing image for those outside the borders of the EU25. But how the EU is understood and seen from the outside is important as reflections from countries external to the EU, or "third countries", may help to more clearly identify and define Europe for itself. As a think-tank has argued regarding the EU's public diplomacy, for the Union to prosper it must project a positive image of itself to opinion-formers and to the 'man in the street' both within and beyond its borders. Yet, research on the external perceptions (both public and elite) of the EU is rare, as are analyses of how the international media represent and present the EU image abroad.

This lecture went someway to address this issue by presenting the findings from a series of third country studies in Asia undertaken from 2004-6 focused on the media and public opinion. Leading newspapers and TV channels in each selected country - Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and China - were analysed on a daily basis to ascertain the relative levels of EU news coverage, the topics chosen and the news sources used. This information was the analysed in terms of the images, metaphors and neutrality of the news stories used to represent the EU to citizens across the Asian region. Opinion surveys were then conducted to determine the attitudes and perceptions held both by the general public and by each country's elite.

This research has provided a unique insight into how the EU is perceived in Asia, hinting at serious ramifications for Europe 's influence in the region. Any public misperception or ill-informed media representation concerning the EU's global role is potentially detrimental, particularly if it results in an overly simplified Asian view of the EU's capabilities (it is more than "just" an economic player, for example).

This lecture dealt with the media's coverage of the EU as well as examine both public and elite opinion towards the EU across five Asian countries. The questions that are raised include: is there a communication gap between the EU and Asia ? If so, what is the nature of this gap and how might this be addressed if left unaddressed, what are the potential implications for the EU and for the EU-Asian dialogue? What policy recommendations for both the media and for the EU can be suggested? And, what might be the wider implications of a concerted EU public diplomacy strategy to raise EU "visibility" abroad?

This lecture tour was organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation in co-operation with Sciences-Po, the University of Central Lancashire, the University of Ulster, the University of Bristol, the University of Navarra and the European Policy Centre.

Click on the links below to retrieve other relevant documents:

PowerPoint Presentation

Final Paper