2023-07-02 12:46:30
The European Union Ambassador to China, Jorge Toledo, regrets that the economic and trade dialogue has not progressed favorably over the past four years.
European Union Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo on Sunday regretted the lack of significant progress with Beijing on trade, as the 27 EU countries seek to reduce their economic dependence on the giant. Asian.
A context of cooling relations
The European Commission has suspended its efforts to have member states and parliament ratify an investment agreement reached at the end of 2020 with China, following seven years of discussions, following differences over human rights in the majority region. Muslim from Xinjiang.
In the midst of a cooling of relations, the EU also decided in May to “readjust” its position vis-à-vis China to reduce its economic dependence, at a time when Beijing is suspected of giving Moscow tacit support in its war in Ukraine.
“I am sorry to say that we have an economic and trade dialogue that has not progressed, or at least not substantially, over the past four years,” said Jorge Toledo. The diplomat, who was speaking at a forum organized in Beijing, did not explain which file(s) in particular he was referring to.
An ambiguity of China on the invasion of Ukraine
“We want to engage with China, but we need progress and we need it this year,” insisted the EU representative in Beijing, adding that a high-level economic dialogue between the two sides would be organized “most probably in September”. China is for the EU “both a partner, a competitor and a systemic rival”, underlined Jorge Toledo.
The European Commission thus unveiled last month a strategy to respond more firmly to the risks weighing on its economic security, with China in particular in the line of sight. One of the most heated disputes with Beijing is linked to the ambiguity of the Chinese position on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. If China does not recognize the territories annexed by Moscow in Ukraine, it has not condemned the military intervention.
“L’Ukraine […] is the question that can make or break relations between the European Union and China,” warned the Spanish ambassador to China, Rafael Dezcallar Mazarredo. “It can improve them considerably or drag them down. a very negative path”, he underlined during this same forum.
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