Brussels, 12/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - At the opening of the EU-China summit in Beijing on Tuesday 12 July, European Council President Donald Tusk called on China to respect the international legal system. China is involved in strong territorial disputes at regional level and in strong trade disputes at global level.
“We came here to discuss common challenges, and to do so in a friendly manner. One of those is the protection of the rule-based international order. This may be the biggest challenge ahead of us. It is both in the Chinese and European interest to protect international cooperation based on common rules”, Tusk stated at the start of the summit. The summit is also being attended by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Tusk's call for China to respect international law came shortly before publication of a decision by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. “The rule-based international order is our common interest and both China and the EU have to protect it”, Tusk said.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded that China did not have “historic rights” justifying its claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea. This verdict was nevertheless quickly rejected by the Chinese regime, with China's foreign ministry considering that the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague had “no jurisdiction” in this matter.
China's President Xi Jinping, who met Tusk and Juncker at a gala dinner organised as part of the summit on Tuesday evening, confirmed that China would not accept any proposal or action based on the decision of this arbitration court on the issue of the South China Sea.
“The islands in the South China Sea have been part of the territory of China since ancient times. China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea would not under any circumstances be influenced by this decision”, Xi said, as reported by China's Xinhua News Agency.
Xi continued that China has always defended the rule of law, equality and international justice, and would keep to a path of peaceful development. He said that China is firmly attached to peace and stability in the South China Sea and to resolving disputes with the countries directly concerned through negotiations, on the basis of respect for historic facts and in accordance with international law.
China claims sovereignty on nearly all the South China Sea - in conflict with the bordering countries with rival claims (especially Brunei, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia).
Referring to the trade disputes with China, due to its unfair trade practices (the massive export to foreign markets of products subsidised by the Chinese state, or discrimination towards foreign companies on the Chinese market), Tusk called on China to fall into line with the rules of the multilateral trading system.
“Globalisation brings so many benefits to our nations. Unfortunately, more and more people feel that it is happening without rules. And if we let these feelings grow, if many start believing that globalisation and international trade are happening without or against common rules, then the first victims will be the Chinese and European economies, not to mention people”, Tusk said.
The EU is currently looking into the possibility of granting China market economy status which, without adequate accompanying measures, would leave the European economy unprotected in the face of unfair Chinese trade. “China hopes that the EU will carry out its obligations on Article 15 of the protocol on China's accession to the WTO, as scheduled”, Xi said.
Previously, Li had underlined China's desire to conclude an investment agreement with the EU “at an early date” and to conduct a feasibility study on an EU-China free trade agreement. He had also called on the parties to strengthen their bilateral cooperation on the construction of infrastructure, the 5G network, maritime sectors and people-to-people exchanges.
In addition, Xi and the EU leaders gave assurances on Tuesday that the UK's exit from the EU would not affect EU-China relations. “China will not change its policy of support to European integration, and is happy to see a prosperous and stable EU, as well as a prosperous and stable UK”, Xi stated. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)