EU racing to devise new China strategy with ‘de-risking’ at its core
- Public spats over ways to deal with Beijing and the messaging on Taiwan have injected new sense of urgency into policymaking process
- EU members find de-risking more palatable than decoupling, but agreeing on ‘the economic stuff’ is easier than on political issues, diplomat notes
In Brussels this week, top-level officials and ambassadors held informal talks to get the ball rolling on what is expected to be a frenzied bout of policymaking.
There was no disagreement on the broad contours of de-risking, which will look to wean the bloc off Chinese supplies of critical commodities, while also restricting European investments in certain hi-tech sectors in China.
The policy was first floated by von der Leyen during a speech in Brussels last month, and she subsequently explained it to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
According to a person who was present, Xi showed no reaction, but he did push back on von der Leyen’s insistence that the EU’s trade deficit be reduced, telling her that the EU should stop deploying trade weapons that interfere with the flow of goods.