Friday

29th Sep 2023

Opinion

Europe must plot its own course on China

  • Xi Jinping with Emmanuel Macron. 'Australia, New Zealand and Japan, proud democracies all, are no friends of China. It did not stop them from inking their own trade deal with China, only days after the Biden's election' (Photo: cn.ambafrance.org)

That 2020 would end with an old-fashioned bang and not with a whimper was written in the stars.

As it turned out, it wasn't Boris Johnson who provided the fireworks, but Brussels itself, provoking fury by announcing a deal with China on a long-touted but hugely controversial investment and trade pact.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Distracted by the festive season, few had seen the move coming.

Europe's big political guns only hastily showed their faces in a video call with Xi Jinping on 30 December.

It could not hide that a fundamental choice had been made, about how the Union relates to the world as a global power.

And while there is no denying this choice carries a considerable price tag, it is far from unreasonable.

Unquestionably, the EU welcomes Joe Biden's arrival with a sigh of relief. But the continent has now made clear it is not about to rush headlong into America's protective arms.

A more calculated approach prevails in post-Trump Europe, cognisant of the fact that EU and US interests have drifted apart, much further than most politicians care to openly admit.

Ever since Joe Biden was elected, hope has burgeoned that the West would quickly heal itself, with the US, in Biden's own nostalgia-tinged words, "back at the head of the table".

Evoking the old frame of a Washington-centred world, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan went so far as to chivvy the bloc to defer its China deal, seven years in the making. Clearly, the EU needed "coordination" with the White House, he said on Twitter.

By declining the summons, the EU showed it sees itself as a superpower in its own right, at least in trade. For requisitions by US presidents, be they liberal or populist, it has no time. Sovereign powers think, decide and are ready to act on their own.

Coordination with Washington is of course fine, if and when this proves an effective tool for asserting European interests, for example to counter distortions caused by Chinese state-owned enterprises.

But as long as the US has its own bilateral "Phase One" arrangements with China, handing US companies the edge over their European competitors, deferment of the EU's trade deal with Beijing is an inexplicable act of economic and geopolitical self-harm.

Washington's frustration with Europe is palpable, though difficult to rationally comprehend.

Democrats are said to be "perplexed and stunned", the promise of a renewed, post-Trump West in tatters even before Trump has gone.

They would do well to get over it, stop fantasising about the West as it once was, and confront the world as it is today, starting with the rioters and scoundrels that stormed the US Capitol earlier this week.

There remains plenty of scope for Europe and the US to jointly raise the pressure on Xi Jinping, which is sorely needed. The only condition is that such pressure pays dividend on both sides of the Atlantic.

Europe's investment deal also makes clear that the status of "systemic rival", which the Union gave China in 2019, does not stop it from treating Beijing as a partner where this makes sense.

There is not going to be a Cold War 2.0.

While the EU is looking to protect its strategic industries and reduce supply-chain dependency in defined sectors, it still wants to trade on market terms in areas it views as less strategic. The real question is where to draw the line between the two.

Red lines?

Expect no answers from EU critics like Green MEP Reinhard Buetikofer. For them there are no lines.

Drawing boundaries is a form of cowardice and amoral cynicism. As long as strongman Xi misbehaves, as he again did in Hong Kong this month, there can be no trade deals at all, no interdependence or diplomacy with Beijing. Dictators cannot be appeased.

However, given China's size and interconnectedness with Europe, a strategic policy of non-engagement hardly deserves the label "strategic". We share a planet and a 1.3 billion people state will not magically disappear.

How can we get Xi to combat global warming? Is there any country that does not in some way bracket its systemic rivalry with Beijing?

Australia, New Zealand and Japan, proud democracies all, are no friends of China. It did not stop them from inking their own trade deal with China, only days after the Biden's election.

Biden himself could have pledged to terminate or at least re-open the Phase One deal, for example to get Beijing to ratify fundamental ILO conventions. To the delight of Wall Street bankers, he vowed to maintain the status quo.

It was inevitable that Trump's successor would be hailed as the 'Great Healer' of the West.

But Joe Biden's tragedy is that he turned himself into the symbol of a pipedream. He talks about democracy, values and global leadership, even as the US' standing in the world plunges to yet greater depths. Strongman Xi he calls a "thug".

It is firm language, and not a word we are likely to hear from Charles Michel or Ursula von der Leyen, or from Macron or Merkel.

Still, for now, what they say about China sounds incalculably more strategic and savvy.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

EU should not rush investment deal with China

Concluding an investment agreement between the EU an China now is a symbolical victory for China and makes it harder for Europe to engage it on critical matters in the future, experts on EU-China relations argue.

EU tells China to prove investment deal is worthwhile

"China has to convince us that it is worth having an agreement," EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said, telling China to move on key reciprocity issues on the planned bilateral investment agreement.

Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war

While Belarus has not sent its own troops to fight Russia's war in Ukraine, the Minsk dictatorship has been heavily involved. As a result, Belarus must be punished for its involvement — what can the world do to sanction Belarus?

Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling

Vasco Alves Cordeiro, president of the European Committee of the Regions, is advocating a revamp of the EU's regional policy so that it better supports all regions in addressing major challenges such as the green and digital transitions.

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Column

Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?

International media must make clear that these are not fair, democratic elections. The flawed race should be the story at least as much as the race itself.

Latest News

  1. EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
  2. Three steps EU can take to halt Azerbaijan's mafia-style bullying
  3. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  4. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  5. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  6. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  7. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  8. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us