Analysis of France’s Policy toward the Lifting of the EU Arms Embargo on China (2003-2010)
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Colette Camille Darbas, Lise
Abstract
This study analyzes France’s policy toward the EU arms embargo on China, in the context of French foreign policy toward China during the Chirac and Sarkozy periods from 2003 to 2010. The issue of whether or not to lift the EU’s arms embargo on China, which was implemented after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in June 1989, has been a point of contention among the EU members and between the EU and the United States, China, Taiwan and Japan. The issue has affected economic exchanges between Europe and China; a plan to lift the embargo, led by France and Germany, caused friction between EU and the United States between late 2003 and mid-2005. Serious discussion of the issue was shelved for five years until Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero raised the question of lifting the ban during his presidency of the EU at the end of January 2010.
This research shows that Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy have both supported lifting the EU arms embargo on China for the sake of France’s national interest instead of considering human rights issues or the security dilemma in the East Asia region. The two presidents pursued different foreign policy directions toward the United States and China in response to shifts in the global balance of power caused by the Iraq War and the global financial crisis. Both Chirac and Sarkozy supported the Gaullist tradition in France’s foreign policy but the two leaders had different interests and approaches to foreign relations. The U.S. and China have attempted to exploit economic leverage and the lack of leadership within the EU to influence the European states on their decision regarding the embargo. Two camps formed between the European states: the “pro-lifting” camp led by France and Germany, and the “anti-lifting” camp led by the Nordic countries and East European countries influenced by US lobbying.
The first section of this study outlines the realist approach to analyzing France’s policy toward the EU arms embargo on China. This approach explains French policy as the result of France’s efforts to retain its great power status in a global order characterized by relative power shifts between the United States and China. Then, the second part discusses the origins of the EU arms embargo following the Tiananmen Square crackdown and French policy toward China before 2003. The third part focuses on the foreign policy of Jacques Chirac. Following the outbreak of the Iraq War, Chirac took the lead in calling for a lifting of the arms embargo as part of his efforts to improve ties with China and counterbalance US hegemony. The fourth section focuses on Nicolas Sarkozy’s foreign policy. Upon taking office, Sarkozy took a less conciliatory policy toward China as he worked to restore transatlantic relations and define France as a close member of the “Western family.” However, he had to temper this strategy in order to secure China’s help in stabilizing the world economy during the global financial crisis. While continuing to support the lifting of the arms embargo in order to advance France’s economic interests with China, Sarkozy was unwilling to take a lead on the issue. The concluding section compares Chirac and Sarkozy’s positions toward the EU arms embargo on China and summarizes the findings of this study. This realist examination of France’s policy sheds light on the factors which influenced Chirac’s and Sarkozy’s decisions regarding the EU arms embargo on China.
Subjects
EUROPEAN UNION
EU ARMS EMBARGO
SINO-FRENCH RELATIONS
FRENCH’S FOREIGN POLICY
LIFTING
NATIONAL INTEREST
MULTIPOLARITY
Type
thesis
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