A combination of internal and external factors - from the changing international environment and enhancement of China’s international status to the EU’s increasing sense of crisis and its ongoing internal reform process - are pushing the European Union to continuously adjust its policy towards China.In the context of the current debt crisis,the enforcement of the Lisbon Treaty,and the release of Europe 2020,the EU is presented with a more pragmatic and expansionary foreign policy,increasing its use of trade policy as a diplomatic tool.Specifically with regards to Sino-EU relations,the EU promotes the China-EU strategic partnership to be economic and trade oriented.Along these lines,they want to give priority to the economic and trade issues in their bilateral relations,put more A combination of internal and external factors - from the changing international environment and enhancement of China’s international status to the EU’s increasing sense of crisis and its ongoing internal reform process - are pushing the European Union to continuously adjust its policy towards China. In the context of the current debt crisis, the enforcement of the Lisbon Treaty, and the release of Europe 2020, the EU is presented with a more pragmatic and expansionary foreign policy, increasing its use of trade policy as a diplomatic tool. Specifically with regards to Sino-EU relations, the EU promotes the China-EU strategic partnership to be economic and trade oriented.Along these lines, they want to give priority to the economic and trade issues in their bilateral relations, put more