Exclusive | It is time China started taking Europe more seriously, says EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell
- Josep Borrell urges Beijing to accept downturn in relations is not simply an extension of its rivalry with the US and that the bloc has its own interests to consider
- In interview ahead of China visit, he warns EU is ‘not wholly convinced’ that Beijing is neutral in Russia’s war on Ukraine
The European Union’s top diplomat is due to arrive in Shanghai on Thursday with a message for China: take us more seriously.
“My first objective is to reaffirm to my Chinese interlocutors that Europe takes China seriously and has no hidden agenda aiming at derailing its rise.
“At the same time, we expect from China to take us more seriously and stop looking at us through the lens of its relations with others. Our assessment and conduct is driven by our own interests,” Borrell said.
His comments reflect a frustration in Europe that Beijing does not accept that the union has come to its own conclusions on China as relations worsen.
China’s state media often portrays the EU as a “puppet” of the US, but Borrell insisted that the “war in Ukraine has transformed us … from the position of an economic power to a geopolitical one, taking its strategic responsibilities very seriously”.