In the Post-Cold War era, the shape of international system has been changing into the ¡§One Super Power with Multiple Powers¡¨ which differs from the ¡§Bipolar System¡¨ in the Cold War era. Due to the new situation, states have to adjust their foreign policies. This thesis, based on theories of Neo-Realism and Neo-Liberalism, is focused on the bilateral foreign relations between PRC and European Union (EU). The diplomatic relations established between PRC and EC in 1975 and the ¡§EC-China Trade and Cooperation Agreement¡¨ in 1978 did not help to tighten the bilateral relations in the Cold War era. Considering the multi-faced factors such as economy and politics, etc., EU finally realized the importance of the Asia and PRC in the early 1990s. Since 1995, EU had announced six documents regarding its China policy: ¡§A Long Term Policy for China-Europe Relations¡¨ in 1995, ¡§Building a Comprehensive Partnership with China¡¨ in 1998, ¡§Report on the Implementation of the Communication "Building a Comprehensive Partnership with China" COM(1998)181¡¨ in 2000, ¡§EU Strategy towards China: Implementation of the 1998 Communication and Future Steps for a More Effective EU Policy¡¨ in 2001, ¡§Country Strategy Paper 2002-2006¡¨ in 2002, and ¡§A Maturing Partnership - Shared Interests and Challenges in EU-China Relations¡¨ in 2003. EU upgraded PRC to be one of six global strategic partners in 2003. To carry out its China policy, EU appealed to political and human rights dialogues, economic and trade relations, and EU-PRC cooperation. PRC¡¦s rapid economic growth in the early 1990s attracted EU¡¦s attention. PRC, in pursuit of continuous economic development and enhancement of its international prominence, happily accepted the friendliness expressed by EU. In order to develop good relations with EU, PRC made flexible changes in terms of internal and external policies. Despite the fact that the PRC-EU relations were significantly improved in the Post-Cold War era such as EU surpassed the US in 2004 as PRC¡¦s greatest trade partner, some disagreements remained in the areas of human rights and economic interaction. Therefore, the common goal and priority of cooperation between PRC and EU was to pursue ¡§economic and trade interests,¡¨ whereas ¡§same bed, different dreams¡¨ continued in universal value and strategic interests because of difference emphases. Both Neo-Realism and Neo-Liberalism have their limits in interpreting the overall situation between PRC and EU. Kenneth Waltz¡¦s Neo-Realism, stressing the international system and national interests, is ideal for this thesis subject but can hardly explain the yet-to-be-established balance of power, economy and cooperation. On the contrary, the Neo-Liberalism perfectly interprets the economic and trade interaction, cooperation, and institution between PRC and EU, but is limited in detailing the long-term PRC-EU relations since WWII.

The aim of this thesis is to provide the reader with an overview of the system and the process of promoting Czech trade and economic interests in the European Union. I would like to see the content of this work could serve as an aid to Czech entrepreneurs in promoting their interests in the European Union. The first chapter focuses on defining the Czech trade and economic interests. The second part describes the current state of the system of promoting these interests, where I mention its main defaults and possible solutions. The third chapter is devoted to instruments and institutions involved in the system mentioned above and their roles. The following chapter explains the process defending Czech national interests in the European Union. The fifth and very important part of the thesis is questionnaire part, which gives reader a realistic picture of the system from the perspective of Czech entrepreneurs themselves.