The European Union ambassador to China, Jorge Toledo, lamented this Sunday the lack of significant progress with Beijing on trade, as the 27 EU countries seek to reduce their economic dependence on the Asian giant.
A context of cooling relations
The European Commission has suspended its efforts to get member states and parliament to ratify an investment deal reached in late 2020 with China, after seven years of discussions, following disputes over human rights in the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang.
Amid cooling relations, the EU also decided in May to “readjust” its position vis-à-vis China to reduce its economic dependency, at a time when Beijing is suspected of giving tacit support to Moscow in its war in Ukraine. .
“I am sorry to say that we have an economic and commercial dialogue that has not advanced, or at least not substantially, in the last four years,” said Jorge Toledo. The diplomat, speaking at a forum in Beijing, did not explain which particular file(s) he was referring to.
An ambiguity from China about the invasion of Ukraine
“We want to engage with China, but we need progress and we need it this year,” the EU representative in Beijing insisted, adding that a high-level economic dialogue between the two parties would be organized “most likely in September.” China is for the EU “at the same time 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 to its economic security, with China in particular in its sights. One of the most heated disputes with Beijing is linked to the ambiguity of China’s position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If China does not recognize the territories annexed by Moscow in Ukraine, it has not condemned military intervention.
“Ukrainian […] It 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 stressed during this same forum.
Source: BFM TV
