The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is an important institution of multiparty co-operation and political consultation led by the CPC. It is an important instrument to promote socialist democracy in China’s political activities. A delegation of CPPCC headed by Mr. Zhao Jinjun, Vice-Chairman of its Foreign Affairs Committee, President of China Foreign Affairs University, and former Ambassador of China to France paid a visit to the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) on 12 May 2011.
The roundtable discussion which was organized provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of views. Representatives of CPPCC were particularly interested in issues such as EU integration, the financial crisis and its impact and Greek foreign policy.
ELIAMEP’s experts explained that the EU’s enlargement policy includes three different cases. The first refers to Western Balkan countries, the second to Iceland and the third to Turkey. As it was suggested, Croatia is likely to join the EU in the short-term. However, prospects for Albania, FYROM, Montenegro and Serbia are negative, at least in the short-term. For its part, Iceland has to face a crucial public vote while Turkish EU orientation is more complicated and Ankara has already started exploring additional alternatives. As far as the priorities for Europe are concerned these are ranging from the economic crisis to the external affairs stabilization policy as well as to the globalization phenomenon. Further to this, rising euroscepticism was considered as a new issue of concern for Brussels.