China reaches out to EU member states, telling Finland ‘we’re partners, not rivals’

Foreign Minister Wang Yi says there is a ‘huge need for cooperation’ in talks with Finnish counterpart
Pekka Haavisto raised the issue of cybersecurity and expressed ‘serious concerns’ about Xinjiang and Hong Kong

China-EU relations

Laura Zhou

Published: 7:00pm, 26 Jul 2021

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Foreign Minister Wang Yi has stressed that China and the European Union are “partners, not rivals” during talks with his Finnish counterpart, as Beijing reaches out to EU member states amid tensions with the bloc.

Wang also urged Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto to stay independent when dealing with China during their meeting in the Chinese city of Chengdu on Sunday.

“There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Europe, there is only a huge need for cooperation, and it is entirely possible to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results,” Wang told Haavisto, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.

“China and Europe are partners, not rivals, and their common interests far outweigh their differences,” Wang said. “China is willing to work with the European side to enhance mutual trust through frank dialogue, resolve differences through equal consultation and promote the sustainable, healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.”

He said relations between China and Finland had shown that “cooperation between countries with different histories, cultures, social systems and values is entirely possible and mutually beneficial”.

“The key is to insist on respecting each other’s core interests, on deepening strategic mutual trust through friendly communication, and on treating each other as equals,” he said.

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According to the statement, Wang said China was willing to work with Finland on innovation and clean technology, and the two sides agreed to push forward negotiations to make it easier to travel between their countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to cooperate on winter sports.

Beijing is stepping up diplomatic efforts with Europe as relations sour over human rights and other issues, and after the European Parliament hit pause on ratifying an investment pact with China in May, five months after negotiations concluded. Tensions worsened last week when the EU joined the US, Britain and others to blame China for the Microsoft Exchange cyberattack earlier this year, a claim Beijing said was groundless.

Finland’s foreign ministry said in a separate statement that Haavisto had “raised topical questions” related to cybersecurity during the meeting and expressed “serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the political situation in Hong Kong”, none of which was mentioned in the Chinese statement.

Haavisto said ratification of the investment agreement would be important for both Chinese and European businesses, so it was important to maintain dialogue.

“The conditions for moving forward with the EU-China investment agreement are not currently in place, but it is important for both parties to seek a solution in this respect,” the Finnish statement said.

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In a joint press conference after the meeting, Wang said Beijing was keen to work with Helsinki in green and digital industries while improving “trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation between China and Europe”.

According to the Chinese statement, Haavisto told Wang that Finland was willing to work with China on issues including climate change, the green economy, data security, and the Arctic.

On Thursday, Wang called for support to oppose “politicising” the search for the origins of Covid-19 in virtual talks with his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva, and again when he met Maltese Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo in Chengdu on Friday. He repeated the call during his meeting with Haavisto on Sunday.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Wang tells EU ‘we’re partners, not rivals’