EU leaders talk tough to Beijing over long list of unmet promises

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says EU-China relationship ‘not an easy one’ after first meeting
Points finger at Chinese for cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and warns of negative consequences over Hong Kong security law

China-EU relations

Stuart Lau

Published: 12:30pm, 23 Jun 2020

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When Ursula von der Leyen sat in front of web cameras at the European Commission’s building in Brussels on Monday, it appears she had decided there was no room for weakness with the Chinese leaders she was about to meet for the first time.

As she and European Council President Charles Michel took to the press podium after the two long summit calls – first with Premier Li Keqiang and then with President Xi Jinping – von der Leyen laid out her tactics: identify areas of cooperation, before combing through the ways China had under-delivered on its promises, one by one.

The list was long, ranging from bilateral investment through World Trade Organisation reforms to climate change targets. That was on top of irreconcilable differences over issues such as Hong Kong’s national security law, human rights, and disinformation campaigns attributable to Chinese cyber activities.

“The relationship between the EU and China is simultaneously one of the most strategically important and one of the most challenging that we have,” said von der Leyen, apparently unmoved by Xi’s charm offensive, at the news conference, adding that the relationship with China was “not an easy one”.

The meeting between Chinese and EU leaders took place via video link because of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Xinhua

She pointed the finger at China for “cyberattacks on computing systems, on hospitals”, adding sternly that “we know the origin of the cyberattacks”.

On disinformation campaigns, “we pointed out this cannot be tolerated”, and on the subject of Hong Kong she spoke of “very negative consequences” should Beijing go ahead with the national security law. None of these issues appeared in Chinese state media reports of the summit.

According to an EU source, the German minister-turned commission president sought outside expert advice on China during her preparation for the summit with Xi and Li.

“Von der Leyen restored a bit of toughness and clarity after months of mixed EU messages,” Noah Barkin, senior visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank, said.

“She made clear that Beijing has not moved nearly enough on the investment deal, called China out for cyberattacks and disinformation and warned of serious consequences on Hong Kong. But this is rhetoric. The true test for the EU will come if and when Beijing refuses to budge,” Barkin said. “Is there a plan B? That’s not clear.”

At a time when Beijing was already risking Washington’s constant threats of economic decoupling, Xi took the opposite approach, downplaying the differences with the EU in a bid to steer the bloc away from more unfavourable measures against China.

According to Xinhua, Xi – seated in front of a screen at party headquarters in Zhongnanhai – told his EU counterparts “China wants peace instead of hegemony”.

He went on to say that China was “a partner, not an opponent” to the EU, and would continue to deepen reform and expand opening up, providing Europe with a new round of cooperation opportunities and development space.

“No matter how the international situation changes, China will take the side of multilateralism and adhere to the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits,” Xi said.

EU urges Xi: drop Hong Kong security law or risk ‘negative consequences’

China, though, failed to win the EU’s approval for its vow of multilateralism, with Michel saying: “We have to recognise that we do not share the same values, political systems, or approach to multilateralism.”

The big issue confronting the EU is World Trade Organisation reform. While the US’ hostile approach to the WTO was not welcomed in Brussels, the EU was equally dismayed by Beijing’s lack of efforts to cut down on industrial subsidies.

With the EU and China failing to reach a communique after this year’s summit, von der Leyen made no attempt to hide the slow progress towards an investment treaty, slated for conclusion by the end of this year.

“We need to follow up on these commitments urgently,” she told reporters. “We also need to have more ambition on the Chinese side in order to conclude negotiations on an investment agreement.”

She called on China to devote more high-level political momentum to its talks with Brussels – a veiled attack on Beijing’s one-sided focus on negotiations with Washington.

China puts focus on consensus, EU highlights differences after summit

EU-China relations have been tense since March last year, when the Commission for the first time classified China as a “systemic rival”, while also referring to it as an economic partner and strategic competitor. Then came the issue of next-generation 5G mobile technology, as different EU countries debated whether to comply with Washington’s demand to ban Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

But it was during the coronavirus pandemic that EU-China relations hit their lowest point. The EU was alarmed by China’s mix of “mask diplomacy” – which favoured hardest-hit Italy and Spain and drew complaints from the latter of EU inaction – and the “wolf warrior diplomacy” of outspoken Chinese diplomats who used social media to try and discredit Western governments’ response to Covid-19.

Brussels’ suspicion of Beijing was further deepened when the Chinese government attempted to pressure the EU’s diplomatic service into watering down a report which documented Chinese state-backed disinformation campaigns.

“The EU has laid down its rules and fired a shot across Zoom’s bow,” an EU source said after the summit. “The ball is now in Xi’s court.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: New EU leaders take tough line in talks with China

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