EU urged to ‘speak with single voice’ against China’s national security law
- The Hong Kong issue arises as the European Union urges Beijing to finalise an investment agreement with the 27-member bloc
- Another EU official says Europe is facing dire threats if China’s technological advancement goes unchecked
Germany’s foreign minister has called on all 27 countries in the European Union to “speak with a single voice” and unite against China’s imminent national security law for Hong Kong.
The move comes as the bloc’s foreign policy and competition chiefs on Monday asked for “assertive” measures on Beijing’s trade practices, with one of them calling China’s technological supremacy a “matter of survival” for Europe.
The Hong Kong issue arises at the same time the EU is urging China to finalise an investment agreement with Brussels. Under the treaty, China will open up its market to European firms. But the talks have progressed slowly, as China is reluctant to make concessions on state-owned enterprises.
Outlining the German presidency of the EU Council, starting in July, Berlin’s foreign minister Heiko Maas made no mention of the agreement, which the two sides said should be finalised by the end of the year. Instead, Maas made reference to China’s action in Hong Kong, a day before the National People’s Congress is expected to pass the security law.
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It is “indispensable for Europe to speak with a single voice to China,” Maas told a conference at the European Council of Foreign Relations, a think tank. “This is all the more important now, given the need to investigate the pandemic and the increasingly robust action taken by China in Hong Kong and its neighbourhood.”