Europeans again called for a rebalancing in their favour of the relationship between the European Union and China on Monday 14 September, following a bilateral summit held by videoconference.
According to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the discussions were frank on all important issues – trade, post-Covid-19 economic recovery, climate, human rights – and have reportedly allowed some progress where interests converge.
“We want a balanced relationship” [...], and “we are ready to cooperate where we can” on the basis of principles such as “reciprocity” and “responsibility”, he stressed at a post-summit press conference attended only by Europeans.
On the other hand, on issues that cause anger, such as the political crisis in Hong Kong, Europe intends to promote its values and defend its interests, even if it does not expect major developments on the Chinese side.
Human rights and the rule of law. However, European leaders did not miss the opportunity to reiterate their concerns about the situation in Hong Kong, the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, the situation of human rights defenders and limitations on freedom of expression and access to information. They have also increased their demands on China.
Recalling that “democratic voices in Hong Kong should be heard, rights respected and autonomy preserved”, Mr Michel then explained that the Europeans had called on China to keep its promises to the Hong Kong people and the international community. They also asked for access for independent observers to Xinjiang, a request which, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Chinese President is said to have acceded to by proposing that European diplomats visit the province, where members of the Uighur minority are reportedly being held in camps.
Another European request: the release of Gui Minhai, a Swedish citizen arbitrarily detained and two Canadian citizens.
And while Europeans and Chinese have agreed to hold a human rights dialogue by the end of the year in Beijing, Mr Michel hoped that a visit to Tibet could be organised on the sidelines of this meeting, asserting that the EU was not turning a blind eye to China on human rights.
Finally, the President of the European Council called on Beijing to refrain from unilateral action in the South China Sea, to respect international law and to avoid escalation. Several countries in the region claim the same islands.
Trade. In the area of trade, the EU still wants to reach a balanced agreement on investment, perhaps by the end of 2020.
But “China has to convince us that this is worth it”, Ursula von der Leyen warned. The President of the European Commission referred to an agreement on “the discipline of state-owned enterprises, forced technology transfers, transparency of public subsidies”. Nevertheless, according to her, “a lot of work remains to be done on market access and sustainable development”.
Ms von der Leyen argued that China needs to increase European companies’ access to the digital, telecommunications, health and innovative transport sectors to the level of access enjoyed by US companies. In addition, the problem of Chinese excess capacity in aluminium and steel remains unresolved.
On behalf of the German EU Council Presidency, Ms Merkel said that the EU had “strategic interests to protect”. These demands for a level playing field are legitimate today, because China is no longer a developing country, she said.
Geographical indications. On Monday, the EU and China signed a bilateral agreement to protect 100 European Geographical Indications (GIs) in China and 100 Chinese GIs in the EU against counterfeiting and imitation.
This agreement, initially concluded in November 2019 (see EUROPE 12364/17), is expected to result in mutual commercial benefits and to provide consumers on both sides with guaranteed quality products.
In 2019, China was the third largest destination for European agri-food exports, worth €14.5 billion. It is also the second destination for exports of EU products protected by a geographical indication (9% of the total in value terms), such as wines, agri-food products (feta, Prosciutto di Parma, Queso Manchego) and spirit drinks (Cava, Champagne, Irish whiskey, Münchener Bier, Ouzo, Polska Wódka, Porto).
The agreement will also allow European consumers to discover authentic Chinese specialities, including Pixan douban (Pixan bean paste), Anji baicha (Anji white tea), Panjin dami (Panjin rice) and Anqiu dajiang (Anqiu ginger).
After signature and approval by the European Parliament, the agreement will be formally adopted by the EU Council for entry into force before the end of 2021. Within 4 years of its entry into force, the scope of the agreement will be extended to include an additional 175 GIs on both sides. These names will be subject to the same approval procedure (evaluation and publication for comments) as the 100 names already covered by the Agreement.
Climate action. Europeans and Chinese are allies in the global fight against climate change. The leaders of the two sides agreed to establish a permanent high-level political dialogue to prepare for COP26 in Glasgow, which has been postponed until the end of 2021.
This will involve checking national plans, Ms Merkel said. “China is a global partner in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change. We have encouraged China to be more ambitious”, she said.
To a journalist who asked whether the EU had suggested that Beijing commit to climate neutrality by 2060 (see EUROPE 12558/16), the Chancellor replied that the issue had not been addressed at this stage. “China must first clarify things for itself. It’s not up to us to set a date”, she replied.
This issue will be discussed in the high-level political dialogue, in particular the date when China will reach its peak emissions before starting to reduce them.
In addition, both parties exchanged views on the carbon markets. The Chinese market would be the largest in the world. Cooperation in this area needs to be exploited, but putting a price on carbon has taken time in Europe, Ms Merkel said.
Biodiversity. Europeans and Chinese also discussed the COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity to be hosted in Kunming, China, next year. The EU expressed support for an ambitious post-2020 global framework for biodiversity.
Covid-19. Both sides stressed the need to continue the fight in the framework of global cooperation. The EU invited China to join the COVAX Facility and to give the WHO every opportunity to investigate the origin of the virus.
On the response to the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic, China has been invited to join the initiative to alleviate debt servicing for African countries.
The two partners plan to hold a face-to-face bilateral summit when health conditions permit, Mr Michel said. It may take place in Brussels, Ms Merkel said, although the summit was originally planned to take place in Germany.
See the joint press release of the European leaders: https://bit.ly/35vkrhM (Original version in French by Aminata Niang, Camille-Cerise Gessant, Mathieu Bion and Lionel Changeur)