Taiwan is a sensitive issue in Chinese foreign policy. The One China Policy is one of the foundations for all major powers in the world to manage relationship with China. The Trump Administration in the United States reconfirmed its position just recently. The European Union always adhered to the One China policy and recognises the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. However, it recognises Taiwan as an economic and commercial entity, has solid relations with Taiwan in non-political areas and maintains exchanges in various technical fields, and established The European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taipei in 2003 without a diplomatic nature.

EU-China relations have entered into a new phase. President Xi Jinping came to visit Europe twice within three months in 2017 and will come again in July for the G20 Summit in Hamburg. Against this background, how to look at Cross-Straits relations, how to understand EU policy, how to evaluate the impact of the Taiwan issue on EU-China relations?

To debate these questions, the Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relation, the Confucius Institute at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and the Brussels Academy for China and European Studies (BACES), invite you to this academic workshop.

Panelists:

• Zhimin Chen, Dean, School of International and Public Affairs, Fudan University
• Qiang Xin, Director, Centre for Taiwan Studies, Fudan University
• Bruno Coppieters, Chair, Department of Political Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
• Xavier Nuttin, Senior Asia Analyst, European Parliament

Chairs:

Prof. Sven Biscop, Director of the “Europe in the World”, Egmont Institute

Prof. Xinning Song, China Director, Confucius Institute at VUB and BACES