ABSTRACT
The Sino-US and the Sino-EU relationships are among the most important relationships in Chinese foreign policy. They are also relationships that involve much uncertainty. They are important relationships because the United States and European Union are critical Western actors, which also possess political and cultural characteristics that distinguish them from China and the East Asian region. Both are powers that possess global resources and capability and a rhetorical discourse that affect such Chinese interests as national unity, territorial integrity, societal cohesion and external image. Not only do their markets, capital, technology and talent make critical contributions to China’s modernization, but their global economic leadership enables them to determine the direction of international institutions that lead and regulate the international economy. Last, but not the least, throughout the post-Cold War era, Washington and many Western European capitals have been involved in disputes and conflicts that affect critical Chinese political and security interests.
