It seeks to build on the EU-China Joint Declaration on Culture of 22 October 2007, which led to increased cultural cooperation and dialogue, as well as launching policy exchanges on education and training, including multilingualism. In May 2011, EU and Chinese leaders agreed to extend the scope of this cooperation by creating a 'third pillar' in the EU-China strategic partnership, through the 'EU-China High-Level People-to-People Dialogue'. This will build on two previous cooperation agreements - the High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue ('first pillar') and the High-Level Strategic Dialogue ('second pillar').
Ce troisième pilier complétera les deux accords de coopération précédents, à savoir le dialogue économique et commercial de haut niveau («premier pilier») et le dialogue stratégique de haut niveau («deuxième pilier»).