EU presses China on markets

Bloc expresses ‘grave concerns’ about use of law in Hong Kong

BRUSSELS — Top European Union officials on Monday pressed China’s leaders to open the country’s markets further to European companies, show stronger leadership in reforming world trade’s governing body and step back from the brink in Hong Kong.

With criticism mounting that the EU has been kowtowing to Beijing, European Council President Charles Michel and EU commission President Ursula von der Leyen attempted to strike a tougher tone than usual, after video talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

The 27-nation bloc is China’s biggest trading partner but also an economic competitor, and as Beijing has become more assertive, the EU has struggled to balance its commercial interests with a country that it sees as “a systemic rival.”

“Progress is needed in many areas to re-balance this relationship, and we made clear that we need to resolve concrete problems,” Michel said, firing off a list of outstanding issues like market access, subsidies, regulatory issues, public procurement, the forced transfer of technologies and WTO reforms.

No Chinese officials took part in the news conference.

Von der Leyen said Brussels and Beijing hope soon to sign an agreement on geographical indicators that would protect national producers, but she lamented the general lack of progress, particularly on lifting market access barriers, since last year’s Eu-china summit.

“We continue to have an unbalanced trade and investment relationship,” she told reporters. “We need to follow up on these commitments urgently. And we also need to have more ambition on the Chinese side in order to conclude negotiations on an investment agreement.”

In a statement after the meeting, the Europeans expressed “grave concerns” at China’s decision to impose its security law on Hong Kong, saying that Beijing’s actions contravene its international commitments and “put pressure on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the population.”

They also raised concerns about human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as reports of people who disappeared after expressing their views on China’s handling of the coronavirus.