Amid the tech war with the US, China’s plan for a digital Silk Road into Europe is sure to raise hackles

China’s penchant for presenting its plans in visionary terms extends to its scheme for digital cooperation with Europe

Given the US’ attempts to block Chinese tech from making inroads globally, China is presenting its collaboration with Europe as part of international cybersecurity efforts

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(From left) Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stand in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace ahead of a meeting in Paris on March 26. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 9:00pm, 3 Nov 2019Updated: 10:52pm, 3 Nov 2019

China’s Belt and Road Initiative has made some progress in its drive into Europe, most recently in Italy, but it has also run into road blocks, which is hardly surprising given the sheer scale and ambition of the project. But what of China’s ambition now to forge a digital highway into Europe?

“China and the European Union, having complementary strengths, are well placed to work together to advance and manage the digital economy, a driving force of growth and innovation in the 21st century,” Wang Huiyao, president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based “non-government think tank”, says in a column which argues that it is time for China and the EU to “come together” on this project.

Specifically, he suggests that “China, being a leader in digital adoption and innovation, and the EU, with its rich experience in progressive regulation of emerging sectors, are well placed to join forces and intensify these efforts” towards international digital cooperation.

As with the belt and road, the digital cooperation scheme, even if it is only a trial balloon at this stage, is bold and ambitious, something which suggests it could create friction as well as interest. It flies directly in the face of US attempts to limit China’s technological advance.

China has a way of presenting its proposals in visionary terms. The belt and road plan, announced in 2013 by President Xi Jinping for a vast network of land and sea infrastructure routes to connect the Eurasian continent with Africa and the Middle East, was nothing if not inspiring in scope and imagination.