EU won’t ally with US against China, foreign policy chief says before Pompeo meeting

Name: Coronavirus pandemic creates ‘new Cold War’ as US-China relations sink to lowest point in decades
Uploaded: 2020-06-14T14:21:15.000Z
Duration: 2 min 6 s
Description: Coronavirus pandemic creates ‘new Cold War’ as US-China relations sink to lowest point in decades

The bloc will not pick a side in the escalating US-China conflict, Josep Borrell says

Instead, the EU would go its own way, working with both Beijing and Washington on areas of mutual interest

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European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the EU will not pick a side in the US-China conflict. Photo: AP

Stuart Lau

Published: 10:21pm, 14 Jun 2020Updated: 8:52am, 15 Jun 2020

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has ruled out a transatlantic alliance against China and dismissed “systematic rivalry” with Beijing, just hours before he is due to talk to his US counterpart.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell called for a “big, positive agenda for EU-China cooperation” on Sunday, just a day before he and the 27 foreign ministers from the bloc are expected to have a videoconference with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The meeting is expected to focus on China and “disinformation”, and will be followed in a week’s time by the first EU-China summit under European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel. The two EU chiefs will meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, with the discussions expected to focus on market access.

In a post on his official site on Sunday, Borrell said the EU would not pick a side in the US-China conflict, adding that the European style of diplomacy focused on multilateralism and cooperation.

“Amid US-China tensions as the main axis of global politics, the pressure to ‘choose sides’ is increasing,” he said. “We as Europeans have to do it ‘My Way’, with all the challenges this brings.”

02:06

Coronavirus pandemic creates ‘new Cold War’ as US-China relations sink to lowest point in decades

He also offered the clearest sign yet that the EU was prepared to tone down its rhetoric of treating China as a “systemic rival”, a policy reached by the last EU Commission team whose term ended late last year.

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EU won’t ally with US against China, foreign policy chief says before Pompeo meeting

The bloc will not pick a side in the escalating US-China conflict, Josep Borrell says Instead, the EU would go its own way, working with both Beijing and Washington on areas of mutual interest

The bloc will not pick a side in the escalating US-China conflict, Josep Borrell says

Instead, the EU would go its own way, working with both Beijing and Washington on areas of mutual interest