EU urged to chart its own course on China policy ahead of key summit
The European Union should maintain autonomy on its strategic policy with China, foreign minister Wang Yi said yesterday in the countdown to a high-stakes China-EU summit.
Speaking on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, Wang also urged the two sides to work together to strengthen strategic coordination while managing differences, calling on the EU to advance ties that “are not directed at, dependent on, or subject to third parties”.
“There are some forces that do not want to see stable development of China-EU relations, so they fabricate the ‘China threat’, hype up competition with China, advocate ‘systemic rivalry’, and even provoke sanctions and confrontation,” Wang said.
Without naming a specific country, Wang said the two sides should be “highly vigilant” of any attempt to damage bilateral ties.
Wang made the comments at his annual press conference, an event overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Asked if China’s strong ties with Russia and the ongoing Ukraine crisis would affect China’s relationship with Europe, Wang said China’s relations with Russia and with Europe “are two totally different questions”.
Last year, China’s trade with the 27-member bloc surpassed a record US$800 billion, and more than 15,000 train trips were made along the China-Europe Railway Express.
The express has become a crucial trade route between China and Europe since the coronavirus pandemic pushed up sea and air transport costs.
Wang said China and Europe shared “broad common interests” and Beijing’s policy towards Europe was “stable and resilient and will not change overnight”.
However, Europe should also be “more independent and objective” when dealing with China.
“We will continue to support the independence and autonomy of Europe and the unity and prosperity of the European Union,” Wang said.
“At the same time, we also hope that Europe can form a more independent and objective perception of China, pursue a pragmatic and positive policy towards China, oppose the creation of a ‘new cold war’, and jointly maintain and practise genuine multilateralism.”
As its relations with Washington have deteriorated, Beijing has increasingly turned to Europe as a counterweight to the US. But such efforts have been hampered by Europe’s growing frustrations over China’s policy on trade, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan.
China has also blamed the US for the conflict in Ukraine and rejected calls from the US, Europe and elsewhere to impose sanctions on Russia.
Nevertheless there have been European calls for China to help negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo on Saturday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said China had to be the one to mediate, though he admitted that the EU had yet to ask Beijing to do so.
The Ukraine crisis, as well as sanctions China and the EU imposed on each other last year, were expected to be high on the agenda of the China-EU summit on April 1.
Huang Ping, former director of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said a lack of direct communication since the pandemic and Washington’s hostility towards Beijing had fuelled European misunderstanding of China.
“China also needs to better understand the European Union, for example, the relationships among the European Council, the European Parliament, as well relations between state members and the EU,” said Huang, who is also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
The EU is seeking a unified policy towards Beijing, and in January, the bloc filed a complaint against China at the World Trade Organization over China’s restrictions on trade with Lithuania.
Vilnius is locked in a diplomatic dispute with Beijing after it moved closer to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing sees as a part of its territory and will take back by force if necessary.
Huang cautioned that the European Union should not let issues over Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang derail bilateral ties with China.
“Europe has always had its own opinions on the world, and always liked finger-pointing, but this ‘habit’ should not become an obstacle to diplomacy and bilateral relations between China and Europe, let alone a ‘card’, otherwise it is destructive for both sides.”
We hope that Europe can form a more independent and objective perception of China
WANG YI, FOREIGN MINISTER