Beijing calls on France to ‘eliminate interference’ and push for better EU-China ties

Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells diplomatic adviser to the president that Paris should push to repair relations when it takes over rotating presidency of bloc
Remarks come ahead of a European Union meeting on Friday, when China’s assertive posturing is expected to be high on the agenda

China-EU relations

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 10:30pm, 2 Sep 2021

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China has called on France to stay independent on foreign policy and to urge the European Union to do the same to avoid US interference in the bloc’s troubled relationship with Beijing.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Paris could also push to repair and strengthen ties between China and the EU when it takes over the rotating presidency in January. He made the remarks on Wednesday in a phone call with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron.

It comes ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Friday, when China’s assertive posturing, especially over the Taiwan Strait, is expected to be high on the agenda.

Tensions have been rising over that and other issues including Beijing’s treatment of the Uygur Muslim minority in its Xinjiang region, which has led to tit-for-tat sanctions and the EU halting an investment agreement with China. But as the US seeks to rebuild the transatlantic alliance to counter China, Beijing wants to mend ties with Europe – and keep the bloc out of its rivalry with Washington.

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On Wednesday, Wang called France a major power with an “independent tradition and strategic thinking” and said both sides should take the long view on Beijing’s relations with Paris and Brussels, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

“France should take the opportunity of holding the rotating presidency of the EU to push China-EU relations – to eliminate interference, overcome difficulties, rise steadily and regain vitality,” he said, without naming the US.

Wang described China and Europe as partners not rivals, whose “common interests far outweigh differences”. “Strengthening dialogue between China and Europe is beneficial to both sides and the world at large,” he added.

Bonne said France was committed to developing relations with China and would promote cooperation between Europe and China on public health, the environment, climate and trade, according to the Chinese statement. He also said both sides should step up cooperation in Africa.

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The EU has designated China as a competitor and a systemic rival since 2019 and has grown more critical of Beijing on issues like Xinjiang, the South China Sea and Hong Kong, but it sees the Chinese government as a partner on trade and climate change.

While there has been pressure from Washington to take a unified stance on Beijing, major EU powers such as Germany and France have largely avoided confrontation with China and tried to keep political differences separate from economic cooperation.

French leader Macron warned in February it would be “counterproductive” to gang up on China and in June said France and the EU “would neither be a vassal of China nor be totally aligned with the United States” in the Indo-Pacific.

France, the first European country to formally adopt an Indo-Pacific strategy, has increased its presence in the region and sought closer ties with US allies and partners, especially India and Australia.

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned it would be “counterproductive” to gang up on China. Photo: Reuters

During the call, Wang also hit out at the US over its chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, saying it should not shirk its responsibility, and criticised the move to freeze nearly US$9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank to stop the Taliban from accessing the funds.

“Effective measures should be taken to help Afghanistan achieve a smooth transition and avoid a wave of refugees and migrants that will bring bitter consequences to neighbouring and European countries,” he said.

“It is also necessary to get rid of the old habit of unilateral sanctions. It is unwise and hardly effective to freeze Afghanistan’s foreign exchange reserves in the United States and exert pressure on Afghanistan at every turn.”

Chinese analysts and state media have seized on the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan to take aim at the US, calling it a wake-up call for American allies.

Cui Hongjian, director of European studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said EU countries would have to rethink their dependence on the US in the wake of the Kabul debacle.

“How to avoid more crisis moments and reduce collateral damage will be priority considerations for Europe when deciding whether to side with the US,” he said in a Global Times article on Saturday.