Is EU Able to Depoliticize Economic Cooperation With China?
04:15 GMT 08.04.2023 (Updated: 09:31 GMT 08.04.2023)
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The European Union is interested in developing trade and economic relations with China. The latter urges the EU to strengthen mutual political trust. However, the United States will try to prevent China and the EU from signing an investment agreement in the foreseeable future.
Recent meetings between the Chinese and European Commission presidents in Beijing outlined roadmaps for this year's contacts and prospects for long-term cooperation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a trilateral meeting with French President Macron and Ursula von der Leyen that China is willing to comprehensively resume exchanges with the EU at all levels. For his part, Chinese Premier of the State Council Li Qiang reaffirmed his intention to work with the EU on this year's EU-China Summit and to strengthen political mutual trust.
The second person in the EU hierarchy made a groundbreaking and generally unexpected statement at the trilateral meeting, following her criticism of Beijing, that "severing ties" with China is neither in the EU's interest nor a strategic choice. This is clearly a positive shift in the EU's position in line with modern realities, Yin Jianlong, director of the European Union Studies Center at Anhui University, told Sputnik:
“At present, China and Europe maintain relatively close economic and trade exchanges. For example, in the trade of goods, China and Europe have reduced the "physical distance" in trade thanks to the China-Europe freight traffic. Almost all provincial administrative centers and central cities in China are connected to the China-Europe Railway Express Freight Train routes. Thus, competitive products can be rapidly traded between China and Europe. Economically and in terms of trade, China and the EU are highly interdependent, and under such conditions, it is unlikely that they will be cut off due to pressure from the United States.”
Von der Leyen is known for her rather tough stance on China. During her trip to Beijing, she apparently had to adjust her approach under the influence of the leaders of the leading EU countries, Boris Guseletov, a leading researcher at the Department of Social and Political Studies of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik:
“France, Germany, and Spain are in favor of more active development of trade and economic relations with China. The leaders of these countries expressed their position at the talks in China, so Ursula von der Leyen is trying to take into account the feelings of the leading EU countries. She is under great pressure. On the one hand, medium-sized and large companies are in favor of strengthening relations with China. On the other hand, political elites, especially those focused on the US, demand a cautious approach to developing cooperation with China. The arrival of the European Commission president was important for China. China used this opportunity to persuade the EU to depoliticize trade and economic relations. But the EU's room for maneuvering is quite limited. The EU is unlikely to abandon depoliticization one hundred percent. The US position will play an important role for the EU and serve as a constraint in this direction.”
In her meeting with the Chinese president, von der Leyen reaffirmed that the EU and China are important trading partners and that their economies are closely interlinked. And she told Premier Li that the EU is ready to strengthen the high-level trade and economic dialogue with China, keep markets open to each other and deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, food, health, green development and intellectual property protection.
5 April 2023, 09:56 GMT
The Chinese side called on the EC president to promote closer cooperation and coordination in macroeconomic and financial policies and to deepen the "green" partnership. This is a good opportunity for the recovery of the EU economy, believes expert Boris Guseletov.
“The EU understands that it would be wrong and short-sighted to miss such opportunities to develop economic contacts with China. They will try, if possible, not to give in to US pressure. Most likely, they can expect strong developments in relations with China in areas not related to national security. Meanwhile, the EU and Ursula von der Leyen will continue to exert some pressure on China, although perhaps to a lesser extent after the talks in Beijing. Nevertheless, the European economy is in a difficult situation today, the Europeans will have to overcome difficulties on their own, the Americans will not help them because they are not interested in making Europe stronger, but in making it weaker. Therefore, the role of the Chinese market for the EU will grow.”
According to Guseletov, China is ready to sign an investment agreement as part of initiatives to strengthen cooperation with the EU.
“The visits of the leaders of Germany, Spain, France and the president of the European Commission are a movement towards convergence of positions on the issue of the timing of the signing of the investment agreement. This movement will continue. Both China is ready and the Europeans are positive, but political issues related to Taiwan, the crisis around Ukraine and the position of the United States may hinder this process. Everything will depend on the position of the European Commission, the European Council and the leaders of the leading European countries, how consistent they will be to reach an agreement. China is fully prepared; the ball is in the EU's court. There is a probability that we can expect the signing in the foreseeable future, maybe even before the end of this year.”
Next week, Joseph Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is expected to visit China. The Sino-European partnership dialogue will continue in the new environment. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU. China has already made it clear in meetings with the president of the European Commission that this date is an incentive for a comprehensive renewal of relations with the EU, including in the political field.
