“Because from the Middle East to Africa, from Asia to Latin America, there are many countries who obviously do not see eye to eye with Europe when it comes to values. We can clearly tell from the divergence of responses to the ongoing Gaza crisis in the Middle East.”

The conflict has laid bare divisions inside and outside of the EU. While some member states have called for an immediate ceasefire, others have fully backed Israel’s right to defend itself. As a result, the bloc has struggled to construct a coherent joint response.

It has also left the EU open to accusations of hypocrisy from countries it cajoled to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some European leaders have strongly condemned attacks on civil infrastructure in Ukraine as war crimes, but have been more reluctant to criticise Israel’s retaliatory bombing.

Last week during an address in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged Beijing to do more to end the conflict.

“China and Europe have a shared interest in stability in the Middle East. So every measure of influence that Beijing has on Hamas and on Iran needs to be used to prevent further escalation. They have to play their role,” she said.

Chinese envoy takes aim at Europe’s ‘de-risking’, national security fears

A report last week by the Overseas Development Institute, an international think tank in London, said the perceived “double standards are plain to see for those in the Global South, and are a propaganda gift to countries such as Russia and China”.

In his speech, Fu also attacked the EU’s more muscular trade policy, which saw it launch an investigation into subsidies in China’s electric vehicle sector last month. Other investigations have been rumoured in industries ranging from renewable energy and steel to biofuels and medical devices.

“To many Chinese investors and long-term observers, the scope and the speed of the change in the EU is unprecedented,” Fu said, adding that the “perceived departure of the EU from a leader of world trade has sent shock waves through the Chinese business community”.

“Our de-risking is country-agnostic and only affects a small part of our trade. De-risking is not self reliance, one of China’s major economic strategies for decades,” said Jorge Toledo, who railed against last year’s “biggest trade deficit in history” between the EU and China.

Toledo also attacked what he described as Beijing’s “double standards” on Ukraine. Given that China’s own “territorial integrity is the reddest of lines ... it is very difficult for us to understand China’s double standards on Russia’s war against Ukraine, as it breaches China’s own fundamental principles,” he said.

“As China always advocates for each country to be free to choose its own development path, I can’t emphasise enough how damaging for China’s image and reputation in Europe is the position chosen in Beijing on the Russian war in Ukraine,” he added.

EU lawmakers demand answers on Chinese links to bloc’s response to belt and road

Meanwhile, a report has highlighted for the first time Chinese business concerns about de-risking, a policy designed to reduce Europe’s exposure to China in critical sectors and keep key technologies out of Chinese hands.

In a survey of 180 Chinese companies operating in the EU, 63 per cent said the approach was “posing challenges to their business operations”.

“They anticipate that the ‘de-risking’ rhetoric will cause EU governments and their European corporate partners to be more cautious in dealing with them, implying more uncertainties confronting their business prospects,” read the study by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU,

It said the problems were particularly acute for companies in the semiconductor and 5 and 6G sectors.

Overall, 43 per cent of Chinese businesses thought the business environment within the bloc had worsened over the past year, with 47 per cent saying the political environment is less favourable.

Despite that, returns remain good, with 90 per cent reporting revenue growth in 2022 up from 80 per cent a year earlier. In addition, 58 per cent expect further growth this year, up from 40 per cent in 2022.