At the end of last year, after reaching a consensus with China on the EU-China investment agreement, the EU had also described it as a major victory at the diplomatic level. According to the Berlin-based Daily Mirror, the shelving of the EU-China investment agreement is undoubtedly a defeat experience for Chancellor Merkel and shows that the European Commission and the EU Parliament have started to prepare for the post-Merkel era. The article, entitled “What price is the EU willing to pay for human rights? writes in the analytical article.
Chancellor Merkel warned against provoking a new Cold War. She advocates an equal dialogue rather than a confrontational approach to the differences of opinion with Beijing.
However, some EU member states and EU parliamentarians argue that Merkel’s strategy toward China is too humble and accommodating. They advocate a firm defense of human rights and the principle of reciprocity in the areas of market access, trade and investment. Against the backdrop of the crackdown on the Hong Kong democracy movement and the re-education camps for the Uighur minority in Xinjiang, the EU introduced milder sanctions against China in March, the first since the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy movement in 1989. The sanctions targeted four Chinese officials who participated in the Xinjiang re-education camp program.
China, on the other hand, issued counter-sanctions that were surprisingly tough. Apparently a cultural misunderstanding caused by the different political systems, the Chinese sanctions turned out to target elected members of the EU house, including German Green Party politician Reinhard Bütikofer, who chairs the EU parliamentary delegation on China issues and is Beijing’s partner in talks with the EU parliament.”
The agreement on the investment agreement between China and Europe in late December had been seen as a major diplomatic victory for the EU.
The fact that EU parliamentarians have turned out to be the target of Beijing’s sanctions can of course only inspire more parliamentarians to exercise their veto power over the EU-China investment agreement. The article goes on to write that, overall, the general trend in Western policy toward China is shifting, with the economic interests of the past being replaced by a values-driven approach to China. The article goes on to write.
“German Foreign Minister Maas also emphasized the change in policy orientation toward China: ‘The seven Western countries are a coalition of liberal democracies fighting together against authoritarian regimes. Democracy, freedom and human rights are the ties that bind us, and we want to be able to be the representatives of these values again.’
But Merkel is still not out of office, and she will still try to get the EU to pursue her strategy toward China. This August, Merkel plans to travel to China together with French President Emmanuel Macron. This will also be Merkel’s 13th trip to China. Noah Barkin, an expert on European-Chinese relations, said it will be a way for Merkel to say goodbye to politics and hand over her job to Macron. However, the two politicians actually have different motives. Macron advocates a different policy toward China than the U.S. in order to highlight the greater independence of the EU led by France. Merkel, on the other hand, wants to do everything possible to avoid a cold war.”
The Berlin-based daily newspaper also noted the trend of the EU’s increasingly assertive policy toward China. The newspaper writes that shelving the EU-China investment agreement is not the whole story of the change in policy toward China, and in fact the EU’s proposed “Anti-Foreign Subsidies” and “Strategic Autonomy” bills are both clearly aimed at China as well. The article reads.
“‘Open strategic autonomy’ is also aimed at Beijing. The main thrust of the bill is to keep production involving strategically important areas within Europe. Brussels justifies this by saying that the new crown epidemic shows the need for a higher degree of economic autonomy in Europe. Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Commission, said that ‘the biggest challenge is how to avoid tomorrow’s strategic dependence.’ Important areas include chips, batteries and liquid hydrogen technology, where China currently holds a technological advantage. Brussels plans to adopt targeted stimulus measures to get out of the lagging situation.
The EU does not believe that subsidies for this purpose would pose a problem. On Wednesday, both the EU Parliament and the economic community expressed their support for the EU’s new strategy towards China. This strategy means that the EU will say goodbye to its hitherto open market dogma.”
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