China’s Wang Yi calls on EU to be calm and rational as he meets Irish foreign minister

Europe should have ‘objective and comprehensive understanding of China’s development stage’, Chinese foreign minister tells counterpart Simon Coveney
Ireland is a stable force in the EU, Wang says, amid strained relations between the bloc and Beijing

China-EU relations

Amber Wangin Beijing

Published: 11:00pm, 31 May 2021

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on the European Union to handle its dealings with China more calmly, and on Ireland to be a stabilising influence in the deteriorating relationship.

Wang made the remarks in a meeting on Sunday with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney in China’s southern province of Guizhou, where Wang has also since Saturday met foreign ministers from Poland, Serbia and Hungary.

The meetings represented the first face-to-face engagements with China for each of the European nations’ ministers since the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to freeze ratification of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI).

During the talks with Coveney, Wang said China and the EU were comprehensive strategic partners rather than rivals, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement on Monday.

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Wang hit out at the “so-called rules” formulated by Western nations, saying that they did not represent true multilateralism.

“We should not be afraid of differences,” Wang said. “It is possible to enhance understanding … and distinguish right from wrong through equal dialogue.

“More importantly, the European side should have an objective and comprehensive understanding of China’s development stage, evaluate China’s development and progress realistically, and handle its relations with China more calmly and rationally.”

Sun Keqin, a European specialist at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the meeting with Coveney was expected to help improve the atmosphere, with China-EU relations at a low point.

Referring to Ireland as a “stable” force in the EU, Wang said China believed that Dublin would continue to play an active role in the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.

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Wang also outlined Beijing’s position about its actions and policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, the Chinese foreign ministry statement said.

Asked in an interview in January about China’s treatment of Uygurs and other mostly Muslim minority groups, Coveney said that “genocide is a very strong word” but that the EU was having “serious discussions” about how to navigate its relationship with China – a position that did not cause a strong reaction from Beijing.

China is Ireland’s fifth-largest trade partner and its biggest in Asia. The two countries agreed at the meeting to enhance economic and social ties in fields such as technological innovation, high-quality agriculture, higher education and cultural industries.

Ireland is one of the few EU member states to have maintained a trade surplus with China, having done so continuously for more than a decade. China has become the second-biggest market for Irish meat and dairy products, Wang said.

Sun said that China was hoping to win over more nations in the EU.

“Economic considerations are more important than ideological confrontations for small countries such as Ireland,” he said.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Ireland urged to help mend Sino-EU ties