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POLITICO

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Nicholas Vinocur and Laurens Cerulus on politico.eu on April 8, 2019.
Hey, Europe: don’t let Washington ruin our good thing.
That was the message from China’s top representative to the European Union, who spoke to POLITICO in the run-up to a Beijing-EU summit on Tuesday, taking place against a backdrop of growing tensions on trade and technology.

Amid last-minute preparations for the talks, which aim to salvage a bruised relationship between Brussels and Beijing, Zhang Ming urged the EU to maintain its spirit of economic openness and the level playing field for foreign companies to invest and grow inside the EU.
But he also lamented Europe’s toughening stance towards Beijing, pushing back against the term “systemic rival” adopted by European countries to describe China, arguing that such polarising language was not even used during the cold war at a time of icy relations.
“I would disagree with that [term],” he said.
He added: “In Chinese culture, rivals are bound to seek superiority over the other side … During the cold war, there also existed differences between the sides, and even then the two sides didn’t describe each other as rivals.”
EU leaders in recent months have beefed up their rhetoric vis-à-vis China as Washington sent diplomats onto the continent to persuade capitals, including Berlin, to toughen up restrictions on Chinese companies.
In Chinese culture, rivals are bound to seek superiority over the other side
Zhang Ming
One result has been a strategic document released by the European Commission that targets matters including human rights, climate policy and investment relations, driving a wedge between the two sides.
Calling China-EU relations “mature”, Zhang urged the European Union to trace its own path with Beijing and not follow in the footsteps of a third country, which was likely to be the United States.
The EU and China’s regular dialogue is “different from the practice of a certain country in today’s world, so it seems to be more valuable under the current global circumstances”, he added.

At the heart of the new tensions is China’s flagship telecoms company, Huawei, which has taken up a dominant position in Europe in the past 10 years.
In recent months, a US-led push by Western intelligence services has sparked concerns and cast doubts over Huawei’s levels of cybersecurity, and the strategic risk that comes with procuring Chinese equipment for 5G networks that would run much of the West’s critical and commercial services in the decades to come. Huawei has repeatedly rejected such fears about its security.
Now, some critics suggest restrictions could extend to other powerful Chinese companies, like Tencent or Alibaba.
“Some are trying to exercise a presumption of guilt against Chinese enterprises, their technologies and products,” Zhang said about the concerns surrounding Huawei.
Italy becomes first G7 nation to sign up for China’s belt and road plan
“These companies do not fear competition, but they do not want to be schemed against,” he said. “And they don’t want to see any attempt to disrupt or even distort the normal business operations in the market otherwise that would be harmful to all.”
He added: “It is important to keep to the principles of fairness, un-bias and non-discrimination instead of harming the legitimate interests of a certain enterprise and distorting market environments.”
The EU is also designing an industrial policy aimed at countering China’s aggressive expansion in areas like manufacturing and technology markets, and it is beefing up procurement rules to help European companies compete against Chinese rivals.
We hope and trust that the EU will not ask China to open up its door while at the same time closing its door.
Zhang Ming
“I noticed the EU is saying they’re trying to do its homework well in order to better protect its own interests,” Zhang said. “China is a reliable, trustworthy and predictable partner of the EU – not something to be feared or guarded against.”
He added: “We hope and trust that the EU will not ask China to open up its door while at the same time closing its door.”
Against this backdrop, EU diplomats have questioned whether this year’s annual summit can produce any progress at all between the two sides.
Zhang offered little hint of a breakthrough in the talks, which have failed to produce a joint statement in past years due to disagreements over geographical indications, or European rules governing how food should be labelled to prove its regional provenance, and World Trade Organisation reform, among other stumbling blocks.
Li Keqiang insists Beijing supports united EU amid ‘divide and rule’ fears
“Our teams are in preparation for the summit in the hope that we can have more deliverables,” Zhang said. “Since last July, we have made good progress on many of these files. For the geographical indications agreement, China and the EU have both made very hard efforts and it’s fair to say that between China and the EU, we are very close to the finishing line.”
The Chinese ambassador said his government has prepared concessions including on Europe’s market access in China, geographical indications and the reform agenda of the World Trade Organisation.
“China-EU relations have been more mature and the sign of this increasing maturity is that we both commit to resorting to bilateral friendly consultation or multilateral [talks] when we encounter frictions and differences,” Zhang said.


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China’s EU envoy to Europe: plot your own path, not Washington’s

epa07478384 Visitors are standing at the booth of the company 'HUAWEI' during the Hannover Industry Fair (Hannover Messe) in Hanover, northern Germany, 01 April 2019. From 01 April to 05 April, 6,500 exhibitors from 75 countries show their products during one of the World's leading fairs for industrial goods. The main focus of the Hannover Messe 2019 is on Artificial Intelligence and the new mobile standard 5G. EPA-EFE/JENS SCHLUETER

Zhang Ming speaks during a seminar held by the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe on March 20. Photo: Xinhua

Smaller European states give EU greater say over China deals to ease concerns over Beijing’s influence

China has moved to address EU concerns after being labelled a systemic rival by Brussels. Photo: Reuters

epa07458376 Italian premier Giuseppe Conte (R) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting at the Villa Madama in Rome, Italy, 23 March 2019. President Xi Jinping is in Italy to sign a memorandum of understanding to make Italy the first Group of Seven leading democracies to join China's ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure project. EPA-EFE/Riccardo Antimiani

Picture taken on 28 March, 2019 shows the old town of Dubrovnik, also a set for the HBO series "Game of Thrones" (GoT). - The city of Dubrovnik -- already a tourist and cruise ship magnet -- became a set in 2011 for the cult HBO series "Game of Thrones" (GoT) whose final season starts on April 14. While the GoT stardom has been a boon for his business, it is also bringing a new inundation of visitors to a city already struggling with overcrowding. (Photo by Denis LOVROVIC / AFP)

FILE - In this May 15, 2017, file photo, a worker disassembles a photo display for the Belt and Road Forum at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. Despite criticisms, Beijing has been steadily racking up adherents to its Belt and Road initiative of a vast network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China to Europe and beyond. A decision by Italy to sign on with the plan would give China a crucial inroad into western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with the United States. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Greece’s ancient civilisation was once a lure for China’s leaders. Now it could prove their nemesis

View of Salamina, Greece. Photo: Wikipedia

(190305) -- BEIJING, March 5, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Aerial photo taken on Feb. 15, 2019 shows the COSCO Shipping Pisces, one of the world's largest container ships with a capacity of 20,000 TEU, approaching Piraeus port, Greece. For many years, growth figure has been the most buzzed-about subject regarding the Chinese economy. Probably because of the "miracle" the Asian giant made with an average gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 9.5 percent in the past 40 years, far exceeding the 2.9-percent global economic growth in the same period. However, one should not make a fetish of the growth rate. Also, economic slowdown is not necessarily a siren, not to mention a drag on the global growth. China sets the 2019 GDP growth target at 6-6.5 percent, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in his government work report on Tuesday at the opening of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body. Though slowing down, China's economy still grew at a medium-hig

JPG for ONLINE

epa07480181 Greek Prime Minister Alexisis Tsipras reacts during the press conference in the Government building, in Skopje, North Macedonia, 02 April 2019. Reports state that Alexis Tsipras is the first Greek Prime Minister to visit North Macedonia since its independence in 1991. EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

(140620) -- ATHENS, June 20, 2014 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L, front) and his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras (R, front) inspect the Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) near Athens, capital of Greece, June 20, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) (lmm)

A China Ocean Shipping Group Co. (COSCO) cargo ship sits docked at the Port of Vancouver terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Thursday, July 21, 2016. The Port of Vancouver, Canada's biggest, is being hemmed in as property is snapped up for housing, offices, and even movie sets. The regional port authority estimates that the region may run out of industrial land within 10 years, which could push some of its $200 billion of trade to rival gateways. Photographer: Ben Nelms/Bloomberg

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis arrives to make a statement in Athens, Greece July 5, 2015. Greeks voted overwhelmingly "No" on Sunday in a historic bailout referendum, partial results showed, defying warnings from across Europe that rejecting new austerity terms for fresh financial aid would set their country on a path out of the euro. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Politico | China’s EU envoy to Europe: plot your own path, not Washington’s

Zhang Ming promises no breakthroughs in the EU-China summit on Tuesday

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Politico | China’s EU envoy to Europe: plot your own path, not Washington’s

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Zhang Ming promises no breakthroughs in the EU-China summit on Tuesday

Politico | China’s EU envoy to Europe: plot your own path, not Washington’s

Zhang Ming promises no breakthroughs in the EU-China summit on Tuesday