European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated in a speech in Brussels that the EU does not want to decouple from China, but the relationship needs to be balanced. She emphasized that China’s performance in the Russia-Ukraine conflict is significant for EU-China relations. Von der Leyen called on China to support a “just peace” in Ukraine and Russia’s armed forces should be removed, and Ukraine’s territorial integrity should be maintained. She also stressed the need for economic de-risking, establishing stricter investment rules in China, and making the EU stronger in key fields. Von der Leyen praised China’s political role and ambition to become a world power, but criticized its tough stance towards other countries and increased repression. The tensions between the EU and Beijing have recently worsened due to several issues, including Taiwan and China’s crackdown on Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
30.03.2023
Ahead of his first official visit to Beijing next week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels that the EU does not want to decouple from China but needs to balance its relationship with China. She pointed out that China’s performance in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has decisive significance for EU-China relations.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) This Thursday, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivered a speech at a seminar organized by two think tanks, the Center for European Policy Studies and the Mercator China Institute, expounding on her vision for the future of EU-China relations. the opinion of.
“It’s clear that our relationship has become more distant and more difficult over the past few years,” she said. However, she added: “I don’t think decoupling from China is feasible nor is it in Europe’s interest.” She emphasized , “We don’t want to sever economic, social, political and scientific ties,” but instead focus on securing trade and investment ties that promote prosperity in China and the EU.
One of the most complex and important relationships in the world
Von der Leyen said that the relationship with China is one of “the most complex and important relationships in the world”, and how to deal with this issue will be decisive for our future economic prosperity and national security.
In her view, the EU-China relationship is currently very unbalanced and “increasingly affected by the distortions caused by the Chinese state capitalist system”, therefore, there is a need for economic de-risking, which “needs to be rebalanced on the basis of transparency, predictability and reciprocity these relationships”.
In order to achieve this goal, von der Leyen believes that the EU must make its economy stronger and more competitive, especially in the fields of health and clean technology; it must pass stricter investment rules in China to prevent the capital and expertise of European companies from Help “improve the military and intelligence capabilities of systemic competitors.” In addition, the EU should engage in closer consultations with partners outside the EU within the framework of the G7 and G20 to promote economic security and stability. She also pointed to climate protection and nature protection as positive examples of current cooperation between Brussels and Beijing.
Von der Leyen: Decoupling from China is neither feasible nor in Europe’s interest
China takes tougher stance to enforce its will on others
Von der Leyen praised China’s success in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the past 50 years. She said that China plays an important role in the world political arena and has the ambition to become a world power. She also pointed out that China is now taking a tougher stance to enforce its will on other countries, and its human rights record shows that it has “increased repression internally and toughened externally”.
Tensions between the EU and Beijing have recently worsened significantly over a range of issues, including Taiwan, China’s crackdown on Uyghurs in Xinjiang, andEU seeks WTO ruling over China’s trade restrictions on member Lithuaniadispute.
Beijing’s performance in Ukraine conflict decisive for EU-China relations
Von der Leyen called on China to work for a “just peace” in Ukraine. She said Beijing’s performance in the conflict was decisive for its relationship with the EU. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has the responsibility to play a constructive role in promoting peace, she said. Russia’s armed forces must be withdrawn, Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be preserved, and “any peace plan that would actually consolidate Russia’s annexation (of Ukrainian territory) is not a viable path.” Here, she alludes to China’s “concerns regarding a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis China’s position” statement, which included a call for a “cease-fire, cessation of war and initiation of peace talks”. The U.S. has made clear that a ceasefire now will allow Russia to hold onto the Ukrainian territory it has seized and give its forces time to regroup.
(Archyde.com, AFP, DPA)
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As tensions between the EU and China continue to rise, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has emphasized that the EU does not want to decouple from China, but rather balance its relationship with the country. In a speech delivered in Brussels, von der Leyen highlighted the significance of China’s performance in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for EU-China relations. She also called for a “just peace” in Ukraine and urged China to play a constructive role in promoting peace as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As the relationship between the EU and China remains complex and important, von der Leyen emphasized the need for economic de-risking and transparency, predictability, and reciprocity in trade and investment ties between the two.
