EU warned to get its story straight on China, amid ‘divide and conquer’ fears

The lack of a common EU approach to China is no surprise but such a sustained and public fight is rare

EU unity on China is crucial, or they will ‘have us for lunch’, warns one diplomat ahead of foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg

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Chinese President Xi Jinping with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen in Beijing on April 6. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00am, 24 Apr 2023

After three weeks of “cacophonous” debate on China, the European Union has been warned to get its story straight – or Beijing will “have us for lunch”.

Diplomats and officials are fretting that an extended bout of public bickering on how to deal with the world’s No 2 economy has exposed deep divisions among the member states and institutions.

That the bloc does not fully agree on a common approach to China is no surprise – these are 27 separate countries, often with competing interests. But it is rare for the fight to be so sustained, and so public.

Political leaders have clashed over how to trade with China and how much to collaborate with the United States on issues related to Beijing.

They are divided on whether the EU should continue seeking China’s help to end the war in Ukraine. A major storm erupted, meanwhile, over the EU’s policy towards Taiwan after French President Emmanuel Macron intimated in a media interview that Europe should not follow US strategy on the island.

In the European Parliament last week, top diplomat Josep Borrell acknowledged the “cacophony” of voices on China, with “not everyone saying the same thing or in the same way”.

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