Opinion | The EU’s China strategy, while avoiding Trump-style confrontation, puts European unity to the test

While it won’t challenge China as Trump has done, the grouping wants to address its concerns over some Chinese policies through a united front. Italy’s lone endorsement of the belt and road shows the challenge it now faces

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Published: 11:00pm, 27 Mar 2019Updated: 12:12am, 28 Mar 2019

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker sounded a conciliatory tone on Tuesday during a joint meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Paris.

The EU is ready to cooperate with China on many fronts, especially on promoting multilateralism, which is being challenged by US President Donald Trump’s trade protectionism and erratic diplomacy.

But European leaders also noted that the “strategic” cooperation between the bloc and China was unbalanced because of the latter’s market-distorting practices, and needed to be recalibrated. Significantly, Juncker said last week that Sino-European relations were “good, but not excellent”.

The EU, pushed by France and Germany, wants more reciprocity in its trade and investment engagement with China. This view reflects the conclusions of last Friday’s meeting of the European Council, which discussed ways to revise the bloc’s strategy towards Beijing, as well as a 10-point document on the issue that the EU Commission released on March 12.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (left), French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

The European grouping, which is China’s largest trading partner, is already trying to rebalance relations with the Asian giant.

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