European Union leaders have warned against embroiled in a confrontation with China and a rift in relations but said it would defend its principles and independence in relations with Beijing.
During a summit in Brussels on Friday, the 27-nation bloc held three hours of strategic talks on their approach to China as President Xi Jinping tightened his containment against a Beijing. increasingly assertive.
Torn between China’s desire to access its vast market and condemnation of its rights violations in the Xinjiang Regionas positive policies in Hong Kong and towards TaiwanThe EU has struggled to forge a coherent stance towards Beijing.
“This discussion shows a very clear will to avoid naivety, but we also do not want to engage in the logic of systematic confrontation. [with China],” said summit host and EU Council President Charles Michel on Friday.
Mr. Michel asserted that the bloc has “its own model for development” at a time when competition between China and the United States is increasing.
“We will always stand firm in defense of our principles, our democracy, our fundamental freedoms,” Michel said.
Since 2019, the EU officially considers China as a partner, an economic competitor as well as a systemic competitor.
An EU foreign policy report prepared for the summit states that Beijing should now primarily be seen as a competitor promoting “an alternative vision of the world order”. “.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Beijing was “continuing its mission to establish its dominance in East Asia and its influence globally”. She also warned about close relations between China and Russiadespite international condemnation of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“These developments will affect the EU-China relationship,” said von der Leyen.
The EU also wants to ensure that it does not fall into the trap – as it did with Russia – of becoming dependent on China for key raw materials and technologies.
“Obviously we have to be very vigilant when it comes to dependence. And we learned our lesson,” said von der Leyen.
Responding to comments made by EU leaders, a spokesman for the China Mission to the EU said late Friday that the “deeply ideologically oriented remarks” reflected the views of some. “clinging to the political ideology of the bloc, valuing their values as absolute truth, and deliberately imposing their ideology on others”.
The spokesperson said in a statement: “China… opposes it equally and urges all to be alert to the growing buzz about ideological confrontation, which could lead to clashes or even confrontation between civilizations”.
China and the EU are committed to peace, friendship and cooperation with other countries, and believe that ‘China and the EU are partners, not rivals, and cooperation between China and the EU,’ the spokesperson said. The Nation-EU is far beyond our competition”.
Our spokesperson spoke to a question regarding the above comments #China made by a #EU Leader
👉https://t.co/xmQQ8h4htZ pic.twitter.com/8JLx4eShgZ– China’s Delegation to the EU (@ChinaEUMission) October 21, 2022
‘Strategy error’
The EU is seeking to present a united front on China but this has been obscured by various economic interests of members.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who called for a more level playing field between Beijing and the EU, said: “We have made strategic mistakes in the past with selling infrastructure to China.
Olaf Scholz, the leader of the bloc’s economic powerhouse, announced Friday after the summit that he would send a German government delegation to China next month. It will be the first visit of an EU leader to the country as of November 2019.
“There is a strong consensus,” Scholz said. “Nobody said we couldn’t invest there anymore, that we couldn’t import from China anymore.”
But other leaders are wary of Scholz’s impending visit.
“With China, just like with Russia, we are divided for their interests,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.
“It’s for our sake that we unite and speak with one voice.”
The EU discussion on China comes as a top US general warned this week that Washington must be ready to respond to a potential invasion of Taiwan as soon as this year.
Ask about EU contingency planning regarding a possible Taiwan invasionMichel refused to make any “prophecy in the military sphere”.
The EU strategy document prepared for the summit calls on member states to proactively warn China of “probable consequences” if it tries to control Taiwan through force.
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said it was important for the EU to also talk to China to ensure that the EU was “on the side of history” in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“China is best dealt with when we are 27, not when we confront China,” he said
