NOI CONSIDERA?II DESPRE RELA?IILE SINO-EUROPENE, DIN PERSPECTIVA JOCULUI DE PUTERE GLOBAL

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disappearance of the Iron Curtain which separated ideologically the western world from the eastern European side of the continent, the closeness between the United States and China in the ’70s was seen as one of the greatest diplomatic successes of modern history, contributing both to counterbalancing the hegemony of the Soviet Union in Asia and to protecting America’s foreign policy from isolation. Today, the preservation of a strong Europe must be seen as a balancing factor in the definition of rules at macro-regional level, being situated among the classical models of governing and cooperation within the international system. The European Union remains the most important global stability factor, the most important ambassador of the respect of fundamental human rights and also of the principle of state sovereignty, the most important contributor to the development aid, the world’s biggest market with a knowledge-based economy and knowledge transfer. The development of a “Europa brand” in a global competition not just in commercial, scientific, cultural or artistic terms, but also in terms of international political order is imperiously necessary. In the context of its lack of real power (in terms of military capacities) and also of a reduced interest of the member states to concretely support a common foreign and security policy, for now the EU keeps its qualities of “lien”, in a register dominated by major hostile ambitions. Like in some vendetta of the revisionist powers, the theory of traditional geopolitical rivalries returning to the stage (East-West, USA-Russia, Western world - Arab world, liberal democracy vs. Communist societies) seems to be the leitmotif of the year of 2014. Let us resume: the Ukrainian crisis representing a spontaneous inflammation of international relations in a revived Cold War atmosphere, and culminating with the occupation of Crimea by the Russian forces, aggressive strategic movements between China and Japan on the other side of the world and a permanent centre of conflicts in the Middle East. We are witnessing a whole series of aggressions and territorial claims, but especially a restructuring of the strategic alliances between states and of the global problems: the world order imposed by liberal democracies, considered as the best route to stability and prosperity (free trade, promotion of human rights in absolute terms, more importance given to climate changes, the rule of law and the consecration of international right as a global governing axiom) is contested and the dispute reaches a critical point. Many observers ask themselves whether China’s internationalization policy is more than a reply to the dominance exercised all this time by the United States with different methods of action. The attempt to impose a new global order is especially carried out around the “Chinese model”, built on the theory of the “win-win” relationship and promoting “equality and mutual benefit”. But first we need to clarify one aspect: does China wish to reform the international system, the older regulatory institutions or to replace them?