China-France: calculated affront

The cancellation by China of the Lyon summit with the European Union scheduled for next December 1st is a gesture carefully prepared and calculated. Presented as a "report" by China, it is to punish France through its presidency of Europe, while administering a warning to all Europeans. Except the time of his historic break with the socialist bloc and Moscow, China does not practice politics of the empty chair in the multilateral framework. However, in recent years, it has not hesitated to cut government contacts with Japan (to protest against official visits to the Temple of the dead of war) or to cancel an official visit to Singapore after a visit to Taiwan. In sum, we are closer to China, since promoted - and punished at the same time - in the same neighborhood. China has never carried with the United States, whose president has received the Dalai Lama at the White House. Recently, however, China had "suspended military exchanges with the United States to protest against arms sales to Taiwan. It was not a reaction to the same level. In addressing European leaders as they deal sometimes staff Sino-European dialogue on human rights, China obviously practice a form of escalation. Inevitably, the event will lead to a Franco-French debate - Nicolas Sarkozy he was right or wrong to announce a meeting with the Dalai Lama shortly after the summit in Lyon? He accredited to China the idea of a particular vulnerability by an oscillation between human rights and political big contracts? Whatever the truth - except that China has chosen France as weak, even though it was chairing the European Union and reacts with skill to the crisis in Georgian and international financial crash. This reaction Franco-French, and yet another debate on the balance between human rights and economic interests, would mark the bulk of the Chinese motivation. The gap between European targets so diverse with regard to China and disunity patent enforcement thereof, is for some time at the center of the analysis made in Beijing. Of course, it was not difficult to notice the plight of the Treaty of Lisbon, or raise discord European leaders before the financial crisis - they do not change by saying they are acting side by side, then that is coordinated action that Europe needs. Analysis of China is even more focused. Europe has no means of its ambitions with regard to human rights, influence on Asian issues, climate change itself. On the sensitive issue of Tibet, which is once again revealing the crisis between Europe and China, there has not been any coordination of EU positions from beginning to end of the 2008. These are just a few weeks, the United Kingdom repealed publicly its old positions (from 1913!) On the autonomy of Tibet, while Nicolas Sarkozy announced publicly a meeting with the Dalai Lama after the summit in Lyon. Chinese leaders do not need to force it, they just collect the European divisions. China is a partner amount, which is currently more silently as Russia, to question its existence and by its very nature a state of incompleteness detuned and institutions of the European system. We have 170 billion trade deficit with that country, we always prodiguons assistance programs that actually make up the menu daily meetings of Europe-China and is China who decides for us in terms of our, our same meetings. We bend over national interests and the "realism" geopolitical would exacerbate the European divisions, and no State weighs facing China. Brader values and principles might be a rush into the nature of the system we have in front of us is to fight for an alignment to 100%, even where we have conducted 50 to 75% of the way. It is in the European coordination that is the solution. Incredibly, Europe is capable, rightly or wrongly, to maintain the embargo on arms sales to China, because it is a negative decision, but is unable to adopt a collective course of action towards the Dalai Lama, because it is a positive gesture where everyone is isolated by Chinese criticism.