Austria-China relations, also known as Austro-Chinese or Sino-Austrian relations, are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Austria holds an embassy in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, and China holds an embassy in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. There are also two Confucius Institutes in Austria in Vienna and Graz. Austria's foreign policy opposite China is strongly oriented on the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

's relationship with China. The EU sees China as "a partner for cooperation, an economic competitor and a systemic rival." Austria's Foreign Ministry has on multiple occasions referred to this position as its guiding definition for its own China policy.

History

Austria officially recognized the People's Republic of China on 28 May 1971.

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

was a part of the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...

which put down the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

, and as a signatory of the

Boxer Protocol The Boxer Protocol was a Protocol (diplomacy), diplomatic protocol signed in China's capital Beijing on September 7, 1901, between the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including ...

gained a

concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

alongside the other members of the alliance. The concession would be regained by China with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Human rights

Austrian officials have repeatedly criticized China for its violation of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, particularly regarding minority groups. On the occasion of a 2011 visit of China's President Hu Jintao, the later Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said: "The considerable human rights violations in China must be brought to the table and must not be swept under the carpet out of supposed fear for Austria's economic interests. As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, the Austrian government has taken up the cause of protecting religious freedom. It must not suddenly forget this in its relations with China, but must stand up for religious minorities, freedom of expression and human rights." In 2021, a parliamentary resolution supported by all parties, condemned human rights violations against the Uyghurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang province and demanded European Union sanctions against the Chinese government. When the European Union implemented sanctions in March 2021, Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he approved of the step and called it an "important signal."

Economic relations

China is among the top 5 of Austria's most important economic partners regarding direct trade relations and also crucial for Austria's economy through its trade with the European Union and Austria's most important economic partner Germany. Belt and Road Initiative In April 2018, Austria and China signed an agreement to advance cooperation, and for Austria to join the

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...

. Austria did however end up not signing a Belt and Road agreement.

References

Bilateral relations of China

{{Bilateralrelations-stub

History

Human rights

Economic relations

See also

References