Eerste ontmoeting China-EU in kader van strategisch partnerschap: dialoog tussen mensen (en)

Cooperation between the EU and China will take a step further on Wednesday 18th April, with the first meeting of the EU-China High Level People-to-People Dialogue (HPPD).

The HPPD is the implementation mechanism of the Third Pillar of the EU-China strategic partnership, dedicated to people-to-people contacts; the first two pillars are dedicated to Economic and Trade, and Strategic Dialogue.

The HPPD was launched at the latest EU-China Summit on 14 February 2012, as a wish to reinforce existing cooperation on people-to-people issues. This includes policy dialogue in education, culture, multilingualism and youth. The purpose of the HPPD is to provide a lively platform for dialogue, discussion and exchange of ideas that will eventually trigger concrete actions that are expected to determine a positive evolution of our societies, in the full respect of their highly valued diversity.

One of the first concrete outputs of the HPPD is the 2012 EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue with 174 activities labeled so far in the field of culture, audiovisual, youth, research and multilingualism.

On 18th April in Brussels, Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong and Commissioner Vassiliou will sign a Joint Declaration on the first round of the EU-China High Level People-to-People Dialogue. In the afternoon, a Forum will take place, with 3 specific sessions dedicated to culture, youth and education.

The Culture Forum will focus on "Culture, Perceptions and Media in EU-China Relations". The Plenary session which will follow will be hosted by Commissioner Vassiliou and State Councilor Liu. In the evening, an ensemble composed of 5 musicians from Philharmonic Orchestra of China and 5 musicians from Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna will perform at Flagey cultural centre in Brussels. A reception will conclude the day.