European Union must ‘play offence’ to offset China’s rising influence in Africa and Asia, insiders say
- Brussels has to move away from its defensive strategy if it wants to compete for global infrastructure deals, promote its ideals, MEPs say
- Two sides ended their summit last week with an agreement to increase cooperation on infrastructure development
The European Union must adopt a more attacking strategy if it wants to compete with China on infrastructure development projects and promote its values in Africa and Asia, according to two of the bloc’s leading authorities on Beijing policy.
Reinhard Bütikofer, a member of the European Parliament and deputy chairman of its delegation for relations with China, said that after the promises made at last week’s EU-China summit the time was ripe for Brussels to push ahead with its global “connectivity strategy”.
“But you will never win a soccer match just by successfully defending your own goal. You have to also play offence,” he said.
At the end of their meeting in Brussels last week, the EU and China issued a joint statement in which they pledged to “continue to forge synergies” between the connectivity strategy and Beijing’s ambitious trade and infrastructure development programme known as the “Belt and Road Initiative”.
