EU should avoid China dependency as it builds ‘de-risking’ strategy with US: trade chief

Path forward is boosting economic security and diversifying supply chains away from Beijing, but not decoupling, says Valdis Dombrovskis

Quality of EU-China relations will largely depend on stance taken over Russia’s war in Ukraine, he adds

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The European Union’s trade chief, Valdis Dombrovskis, says the policy views of the bloc’s 27 member nations can sometimes diverge. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00am, 13 Apr 2023Updated: 10:14pm, 13 Apr 2023

The European Union should not build a strategic dependency on China as it continues to align its “de-risking” strategy with the United States to gain economic security and diversify its supply chains away from Beijing, according to the bloc’s trade chief.

Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president of the European Commission, gave his remarks on Wednesday after French President Emmanuel Macron sparked controversy on both sides of the Atlantic by saying the EU should avoid becoming an American “vassal” when it comes to China and must reduce its dependency on the US.

That firestorm erupted as Beijing appeared to be seeking stronger ties with European nations while geopolitical eddies continued to swirl in coping with growing tension with Washington and the US-led “suppression of China”, as Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted last month.

Amid debates whether Washington was moving towards a broader break-up with Beijing, Dombrovskis stated on Wednesday that decoupling from China was not what Brussels intends.

“We are rather heading towards de-risking and better risk management, avoiding strategic dependency,” he said at an event held by the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank.