Representatives of the European Parliament’s political groups stressed on Tuesday 18 April the importance of speaking with a unified voice towards China and not being naive.
“The relationship with China is the key issue of this decade, if not of this century”, said EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber.
While, for Stéphane Séjourné (Renew Europe, French), the EU is no longer as naive towards China as it was 10 or 15 years ago, for Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgian), “it is high time to learn the lesson of this naivety and see China as it is, and not as we want it to be. We need to move our relationship into the adult stage of ‘realpolitik’”, he said.
For the S&D, Iratxe García Pérez (Spanish) called for a “coherent, comprehensive” EU strategy, calling for “determination, realism and more European Union than ever”. According to Geert Bourgeois (ECR, Belgian), “disengaging from China is not a good solution”.
Several representatives of the political groups stressed the need to base relations with Beijing on the EU’s economic interests and on EU values, notably China’s respect for human rights, including in Taiwan and Hong Kong. They also made it clear that improved relations – including a new trade agreement – would only be possible if Chinese sanctions against MEPs were lifted.
Several representatives also stressed the importance of the partnership with the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan.
The debate also focused on French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to China, with Mr Weber criticising his comments on Taiwan and Manon Aubry (The Left, French) criticising the fact that Mr Macron had appeared to blame China and the US for Taiwan and his silence on the Uighurs.
For High Representative of the Union Josep Borrell, representing the EU Council in the debate, “we cannot speak with one voice, because there are many voices in the EU, but we must at least be on the same page”. He, who had to cancel a trip to China last week because of Covid-19, said that EU policy towards China should be based on four elements: EU values, economic security, Taiwan, and Ukraine.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated that the EU should maintain its relationship with Beijing, adding that there should be “a very clear and shared view of the risks and opportunities of engaging with China”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)