Opinion | EU-China relations face a bumpy road in the year ahead
- An increasing mismatch is opening up between the European Union and China, particularly in the field of technology
- Just as Europe becomes more restrictive Beijing seeks to lower barriers for hi-tech acquisitions
The year 2018 ended with three significant developments in Europe-China relations which, taken together, point to an increasing mismatch in priorities between the two economic powers in 2019.
The first development was the publication of a new policy paper setting out the priorities of China’s EU policy, followed by the deep interrogation across Europe regarding whether Huawei should be allowed to build the continent’s 5G infrastructure.
The third significant development was the widespread suspicion that the Chinese military was behind the large scale cyber operation that hacked an EU communications network, gaining undetected access to diplomatic cables for several years.
In 2018, the most significant change in EU-China relations was the construction in Europe of a safety net to regulate foreign acquisition of assets that could undermine European security or public order.
An EU investment screening regulation was adopted at the end of 2018, after an uncharacteristically quick decision making-process by EU standards given how divisive the initiative was when it was first raised by France, Germany and Italy in 2017.