ABSTRACT
The year 2005 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union. On this occasion, a research team from the Centre for European Studies at China Foreign Affairs University was formed to conduct an evaluation on the China-EU relationship as an academic contribution to the anniversary celebration.1 The team conducted a series of surveys and investigations, aimed at gaining insight into Chinese perceptions of the European Union and the Sino-European relationship. Assuming that university students and professional scholars are two groups relatively more conscious of this topic and more influential in Chinese society, we undertook research into those two target groups. To understand Chinese scholars’ perceptions of Europe, we undertook a literature review and textual analysis. To understand students’ perceptions, we undertook survey research via questionnaires. After collecting the results of the survey and textual analysis, we tried to draw some preliminary conclusions of Chinese students’ and scholars’ perception of the EU and Sino-European relations.
