EU Rethinks Risks Of Ties With Beijing

"BRUSSELS -- China is seeking a new international order with Beijing as the dominant player, and the European Union must be more assertive in defending its security and economic interests, including possible EU-wide controls on outbound investment, the bloc's top official said Thursday.

In a speech ahead of her trip to China alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, set to take place next week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU must continue engaging with Beijing but needs a strategy for "de-risking" its relationship and dependencies on China.

Citing China's backing for Russia, its Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative and its assertiveness in multilateral bodies, Ms. von der Leyen said the Chinese Communist Party's "clear goal is a systemic change of the international order with China at its center."

"One, where individual rights are subordinated to national sovereignty. Where security and economy take prominence over political and civil rights," she said in a speech hosted by two European think tanks, one of which, the Mercator Institute for China Studies, has been sanctioned by Beijing.

Europe's relations with China have been frayed by years of economic spats and, since recent sanctions on Russia, by Chinese President Xi Jinping's close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Facing crosscutting pressures from Washington to harden its line toward Beijing and from China not to put its large economic interests at risk, most European Union countries are eager to continue to engage with Beijing and not to be drawn directly into a confrontation between the U.S. and China.

The EU and China do close to 1 billion euros, equivalent to roughly $1.1 billion, in trade a day, and China is the EU's biggest import market.

The trip by Mr. Macron and Ms. von der Leyen is one of a number by leading European officials to China in coming weeks.

Officials say one of the key goals is to prod Chinese leaders to take a more balanced approach to Russia and warn that any decision by Beijing to support Russia militarily in Ukraine would have serious consequences for ties.

Ms. von der Leyen spelled out that message on Thursday. She said that China's relations with Russia have grown tighter even while Beijing is emerging as the dominant partner.

"How China continues to interact with Putin will be a determining factor for EU-China relations," she added." [1]

1. World News: EU Rethinks Risks Of Ties With Beijing
Norman, Laurence; Kim Mackrael.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 31 Mar 2023: A.11.