On Wednesday, Borrell announced that he was postponing his visit to China due to a positive COVID-19 test, adding that he felt well and had no symptoms of illness. The top EU diplomat was expected to visit China from April 13-15.
"We do not fear China's rise. However, we know that the history of tomorrow's world will also depend on how China uses its power," Borrell said in a blog post on the website of the Diplomatic Service of the EU, noting that this was a speech he was going to deliver at the Center for China and Globalization on Friday.
The EU diplomat noted that the world has "to face the climate emergency, the consequences of the pandemic," and the Ukraine conflict, adding that the EU believes that "China must exercise more responsibility, also for security and peace" as it cannot avoid this.
China and the EU "have strong economic relations," he said, however adding that there is an imbalance in trade, which must be reduced.
"We all have an interest in maintaining an open system. If imbalances are not corrected, we have to react. Europe will remain the most open major market in the world, but we will not hesitate hesitated to take measures to protect ourselves against practices that we consider unfair," Borrell noted.
The top diplomat noted that the countries of the EU "depend excessively" on other countries, including China, for certain raw materials, such as cobalt, manganese, and magnesium, adding that the EU needs to "diversify our value chains because the strategic importance of a product does not only depend on the place where it is produced, but also on the place where it is refined or manufactured" and prevent "our sensitive technologies from being used for military purposes."
"We remain fundamentally committed to EU’s One China Policy. We see no reason to question it. We must lower the tension; avoid verbal outbursts or provocations that can only fuel mistrust. However, any attempt to change the status quo by force would be unacceptable," Borrell said.
Borrell also noted that the EU and China "have deep and serious differences" on the issue of human rights.