The United States and the European Union will hold a meeting of foreign ministers Friday (Oct. 23, 2020) to dialogue and coordinate on how to address China’s challenges.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced at a press conference on Wednesday that he and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell will launch the U.S.-EU Dialogue on China on Friday, believing the talks will deepen longstanding U.S. engagement with its European friends on this important issue.
In the past few months, Pompeo and other senior U.S. officials have made frequent trips to Europe and elsewhere to push for European countries to join the CleanNet initiative, urging them not to use equipment and technology from Chinese companies like Huawei in building their own 5G networks.
The United States has made significant progress in this effort. Pompeo said last Wednesday that the U.S. has successfully invited more than 40 countries around the world to join the clean network, with more than 25 of those countries being members of the European Union and NATO.
Pompeo hinted that Friday’s first dialogue session might use the EU’s environmental concerns as a starting point to discuss how to deal with China’s threat to the world.
Europeans are as concerned about the environment as we are,” he said at Friday’s press conference. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. China is also responsible for 30 percent of the plastic pollution in the world’s oceans, more than any other country. China is also the world’s largest consumer of illegal wildlife and timber products. Vessels flying the Chinese flag or owned by China continue to fish illegally or excessively in waters under the jurisdiction of other maritime nations.”
The EU has long complained about China’s unequal and unfair approach to bilateral trade and investment issues. Over the past few months, China’s response to the neo-coronavirus outbreak, its treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, and its push for a national security law in Hong Kong have further deepened the EU’s frustration with China.
Last month, EU leaders stumped Chinese leaders at a video summit with China, demanding that China be reciprocal, responsible, and fair.
However, there is disagreement within the EU on how to deal with China. EU leaders plan to hold an extraordinary summit next month to discuss Europe’s complicated relationship with China.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited several EU member states in early September, tried to exploit the divisions within the EU to repair China-EU relations and blamed external forces, namely “provocation and sabotage” by the United States, for the decline in relations between China and Europe, saying that European countries should view China in the light of independent diplomatic principles.
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