The Foreign Policy Centre in association with Accenture, held a seminar to discuss EU-China relations with Ambassador Ma Zhengang, China's ambassador to Britain from 1997-2002 and President of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), a think tank in Beijing with close links to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Coming one week after the seventh EU-China summit in the Netherlands, Ambassador Ma considered the short and long-term implications of this increasingly significant relationship

Ambassador Ma's presentation focused upon the budding strategic relationship between these two powers and ways to build mutual trust. Among the topics under debate included the continuing arms embargo, China's market economy status, China's human rights record and the significance of Russia and the US to the relationship. The subsequent round table discussion also touched upon China's role as an international actor in multilateral forums, with particular focus on the recent UN High Level Panel's report and developing a joint framework for Europe and China to move their relationship beyond trade and economics.