On May 20, 2021, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution agreeing to suspend the ratification of the EU-China Investment Agreement. Map of the European Parliament. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, February 14, 2023](Epoch Times reporters Zhao Fenghua and Luo Ya interviewed and reported) Recently, at the “60-minute briefing” held by the European Policy Center, an EU think tank, Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, proposed that China and the EU should simultaneously Lift the sanctions to advance the China-EU investment agreement on hold. This proposal has attracted attention from the outside world. An expert on China issues was interviewed by a reporter from The Epoch Times on February 13, and interpreted Fu Cong’s statement.
Wang He: It is difficult to substantially improve China-EU relations
On February 8, Fu Cong, the CCP’s ambassador to the EU, who had just taken office for two months, was asked regarding the issue that the China-EU investment agreement was on hold due to mutual sanctions between the two sides. Simultaneous lifting of sanctions for some reasons is not feasible and we are open to other proposals.”
In this regard, current affairs commentator Wang He said in an interview with The Epoch Times reporter on February 13, “The CCP is now trying to build a good relationship with the EU. Because of the incident in Xinjiang, the EU and the CCP are engaged in a sanctions war. Sanctions will be lifted at the same time. However, the EU may not agree to the CCP’s proposal.”
Wang He said: “If the EU first sanctioned the CCP in 2021 because of the human rights issue in Xinjiang, if it is removed, does that mean that the EU made a mistake at that time? This sanction is the first time that the EU has imposed sanctions on the CCP since June 4th in 1989. Sanctions are a joint action of the European Union and the United States—the entire Western world. Therefore, the CCP’s proposal itself is unacceptable.
“At that time, the EU’s sanctions once morest the CCP were only symbolic. It was the CCP that responded strongly to this matter, redoubled the ‘return’, and provoked this matter. Because of the war in Ukraine, the CCP supported Russia. The CCP and the EU were in If there is no compromise on these two issues, it is impossible for China-EU relations to improve. So the CCP’s current actions are wishful thinking.”
Fu Cong also proposed in the “60 Minutes Briefing” that if China and the EU cannot lift the sanctions at the same time, the EU can make suggestions. In this regard, Wang He believes that this is nothing more than diplomatic talk of the CCP.
Wang He said: “Prior to this, the (post) of the CCP’s ambassador to the EU has been vacant for a year, and Fu Cong only recently took up the post. Now that he is in office, it means that the CCP is softening its stance towards the EU. But he And he is unwilling to make substantive concessions. So what Fu Cong said is actually nonsense, and it will not have a substantial effect on China-EU relations.”
When talking regarding the Taiwan Strait issue, Fu Cong once once more claimed that the so-called “one China” principle is the CCP’s red line and cannot develop official relations with Taiwan, and warned that the visit of senior EU officials to Taiwan “shakes the foundation of bilateral relations.” In this regard, Wang He believes that this is the long-standing layout of the CCP, and the CCP will not back down.
Wang He said: “After the CCP came to power, it said it had made a ‘pioneer’ in establishing diplomatic relations with other countries. He did not automatically accept the diplomatic relations of the previous government, but said that he would negotiate and establish diplomatic relations with other countries.
“What is the purpose of negotiating the establishment of diplomatic relations? It can only recognize the CCP regime, but not Taiwan, the Republic of China. Then he would rather not establish diplomatic relations between the two countries, and he would not allow Taiwan to open a side. So the CCP has been planning for decades, since he usurped power. After seizing the throne and stealing the country, it began to block Taiwan. Therefore, the CCP will not make concessions on this point.
“When establishing diplomatic relations with some countries in the European Union, in fact, to a large extent, they accepted the CCP’s statement of ‘one China’, so at this point, the CCP drew down this bottom line. At that time, the EU or Western countries They established diplomatic relations with the CCP regime and made these concessions, and now they have already eaten the bitter fruit. Now this problem is actually very difficult to solve.”
Su Ziyun: The wallet is in the hands of Europe
Su Ziyun, director of the Institute of National Defense Resources and Industries of Taiwan and a doctor of political science at the Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies of Tamkang University, said in an interview with The Epoch Times on February 13 that Fu Cong’s 60-minute Speech sends important signals.
Su Ziyun said: “The most important thing is that China’s trade with Europe, Europe is in a serious deficit stage. Beijing relies on the European market. So at this time, Fu Cong is still putting on airs, how can Europe care regarding him? The second is , This kind of bargaining chip makes the negotiations between the two sides unequal, so the ball is in the hands of Europe.”
EU imports from China rose by more than a fifth to 472 billion euros in 2021 compared with 2020, widening the bloc’s trade deficit with China to 249 billion euros, according to Archyde.com. . The increase in EU exports to China was relatively modest, at just 10%.
Su Ziyun said that the CCP faces sanctions from the International League of Democracy, and its economic prospects are not good.
Su Ziyun said: “The China-EU investment agreement has been suspended by Europe, and may even be canceled entirely in the future. This is a big blow to China. Because the EU is now China’s second largest trading partner, it was originally expected to expand investment, but now It may fall through, so Beijing will now face more serious economic challenges, that is, the US market is already affected by trade sanctions, and if the European market is impacted, then Beijing’s future economic prospects will be very bad, so it will soften.”
Regarding the Taiwan Strait issue, Su Ziyun said, “Now the status of Taiwan as a whole is getting higher and higher, and now the CCP is hitting walls everywhere. If he (the CCP) does not change his attitude, the space for the outside world will become smaller and smaller in the future.”
The Epoch Times reporter noticed that Phoenix.com, a website in Hong Kong under the control of the CCP, reported Fu Cong’s 60-minute talk under the title “Ambassador Fu Cong’s Response to ‘China-EU Investment Agreement Shelved’: Both Sides Lift Sanctions at the Same Time or Ask the European Side to Suggest”. , but the report was subsequently deleted. It is suspected that the CCP does not want the Chinese people to know how much weight it has in Sino-European relations.
Li Zhengxiu: Behind the CCP’s softening of its body is hidden intentions
Li Zhengxiu, a military expert at Taiwan’s National Policy Research Foundation, said in an interview with The Epoch Times on February 13 that Fu Cong’s initiative to request that both China and the EU lift the sanctions at the same time shows that he is softening his posture.
Li Zhengxiu said: “The reason why the EU imposed sanctions on some officials in mainland China at that time was because they believed that your CCP regime severely violated human rights in Xinjiang. Of course, China was not to be outdone, and relatively imposed sanctions on some officials in the EU This time, he took the initiative to make such a request, and indeed he softened a little.
“The main purpose is to divide the democratic alliance between the European Union, Australia, etc. and the United States. So now you can see that their current wolf-war diplomacy has gradually changed a little bit, at least with such a face like slapping teeth and waving claws. It has been gradually restrained, but they still will not back down on some basic positions, such as involving the Taiwan issue, the one-China principle, and so on.”
Responsible editor: Fang Xiao#