Borrell calls on China to treat EU as a ‘geopolitical power’ in its own right

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The EU has known as on China to take it significantly as a geopolitical energy in its personal proper reasonably than take a look at the bloc “by the lens” of its ties with third powers, in a veiled reference to accusations from Beijing officers that Brussels follows the US on safety points. 

Talking throughout his first go to to Beijing for the reason that pandemic, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell additionally warned his Chinese language counterparts on the rising commerce deficit between China and the EU, saying that it may result in calls for for “extra drastic protectionist measures” from European voters.

“The conflict in Ukraine has transformed us right into a geopolitical energy, not simply an financial one,” Borrell advised reporters in Beijing on Saturday on the finish of the go to, throughout which he met China’s overseas minister Wang Yi.

“And we wish to speak with China from this method: don’t take a look at European Union relations by the lens of relations with others.”

Borrell’s journey comes as Beijing seeks to position its relations with Europe on a firmer footing to offset rising rivalry with the US, which has launched measures to crackdown on the sale of superior know-how to China. 

However Beijing is livid that Europe can also be putting restrictions on the export of some superior semiconductor know-how, which is able to hit China, after strain from the US,

Wu Hongbo, Beijing’s particular consultant on European affairs, final month told a meeting of ambassadors from the bloc that it ought to be as much as European international locations and corporations “to determine what to promote to China — it shouldn’t be a choice made by another person throughout the Atlantic Ocean”.

“Europe takes China very, very significantly,” Borrell stated, including it anticipated the identical from Beijing.

Borrell stated China’s commerce deficit with Europe, which reached almost €396bn final 12 months, couldn’t be justified based mostly purely on productiveness points or a higher aggressive benefit. It most likely had extra to do with poor market entry for the bloc’s international locations to the world’s second-largest financial system.

In a speech on Friday at Beijing’s prestigious Peking College, he stated with EU elections subsequent 12 months, the commerce imbalance threatened to turn into an vital concern.

“If the general public concludes that the commerce imbalance with China is so nice as to hazard key sectors, or place our transition in the direction of local weather neutrality in danger, it is going to demand extra drastic protectionist measures,” he stated.

“Since our leaders are elected, they’re naturally delicate to what their voters need.”

In different remarks, he stated he additionally known as on China to make use of its affect with Moscow to steer Russia to rejoin the Black Sea grain take care of Ukraine to keep away from one other meals disaster.

Russia pulled out of the deal in July after complaining that, for the reason that UN and Turkey first brokered the deal final 12 months, western sanctions had held up a parallel settlement to permit funds, insurance coverage and delivery for Moscow’s personal agricultural exports.