China is not the real risk for Europe, Qin Gang warns Berlin hosts

Without naming the US, Chinese foreign minister says ‘new cold war’ will damage European interests as well as China’s
Qin reiterates Beijing’s concerns that EU’s ‘de-risking strategy’ will become a ‘de-sinicisation’ of the continent

China-EU relations

Hayley Wong

Published: 1:53pm, 10 May, 2023

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Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has warned that the real “risk” Europe faces comes from “a certain country” that is waging a “new cold war”, imposing unilateral sanctions and exporting its own financial problems to others.

Qin did not mention the United States by name, but accused the country in question of fomenting ideological confrontation and engaging in camp confrontation, when asked about the EU’s “de-risking” strategy in Berlin on Tuesday.

The unnamed nation had abused the monopoly status of its currency and transferred its domestic inflationary and fiscal crisis, with serious spillover effects, he said at a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

“These are the real risks that need to be taken seriously. If the ‘new cold war’ is fought, it does not only damage China’s interest, Europe’s interest will also be sacrificed … That’s the real risk to be concerned about,” said Qin, following his second meeting with Baerbock in the past month.

Qin backed his remarks with a report released earlier this month by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research and the Foundation for Family Businesses, estimating a 2 per cent drop in Germany’s GDP if it decoupled from China.

The de-risking strategy was introduced in March by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who stressed that it was “neither viable – nor in Europe’s interest – to decouple from China”. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also repeatedly rejected decoupling.

EU racing to devise new China strategy with ‘de-risking’ at its core

Qin said he appreciated the stance of Berlin and Brussels, but raised Beijing’s concerns that the strategy could become a “de-sinicisation” of the continent that would cut opportunities, cooperation, stability and development.

Qin was in the German capital at the start of a three-nation trip that ends on Friday and includes visits to Paris and Oslo. He arrived just as China postponed at short notice a meeting between the Chinese and German finance ministers.

It was widely speculated that the cancellation could be related to a landmark visit to Taipei in March by German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger. Beijing protested against the trip, describing it as “vile”.

Qin referred to Taiwan in his address to the media, but said the sudden postponement was due to “an urgent schedule change” by the Chinese finance minister and “should not be over-interpreted”.

“Whoever truly hopes for stability in the Taiwan Strait and is truly committed to upholding international order should abide by the one-China policy and insistently oppose any acts of independence in Taiwan,” Qin said.

Chinese foreign minister urges Germany to avoid ‘bloc confrontation’

With China preparing to send a special delegation to mediate peace in Ukraine, Qin and his German counterpart also discussed the war, with Beijing calling on Berlin to “take the lead to construct a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security framework”.

Qin also strongly opposed possible EU sanctions on eight Chinese companies over their dealings with Russia, stressing they are “normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies”.

He said China would “take the necessary response to firmly protect the legitimate interests of Chinese companies” if punitive measures such as sanctions were imposed.

Qin also reasserted that Chinese law forbade the delivery of weapons to regions in conflict and that there were regulations governing the export of dual-use goods, or those that could be used for both civilian and military purposes.