The European Union must “rebalance” its relationship with China, without reducing it to “a binary choice of friend or foe”, declared Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, during his visit to Beijing on Friday 10 November.
In his own words, the discussions with the Chinese representatives were “productive”, even if “difficult for certain aspects”.
He is the second senior European official to visit China in two months: the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, visited the country in October (see EUROPE 13271/3), also to discuss European economic interests, as well as the relationship of “conflicting interdependence” that links the two regions of the globe.
According to several diplomatic sources, these visits are in preparation for the next EU-China summit, scheduled for 7 and 8 December.
Making yourself heard without raising your voice
“It is only fair that we want to preserve a level playing field, our intellectual property, the effective control of our companies, and of course our security of supply. In other words, to be open, with our conditions”, said the European Commissioner, defending Europe’s new economic security strategy (see EUROPE 13205/7).
Walking the same fine line as Josep Borrell a few weeks earlier, Thierry Breton made a point of reminding Beijing that, far from turning to protectionism, Europe was instead seeking to be “an actor of its own security, and not a mere follower of the decision of others”.
The EU’s dependence on certain Chinese markets remains a “risk” that must be “mitigated”, according to the Commissioner. “It is not abnormal for the EU and China to act differently based on their respective security interests. This does not mean we need to be confrontational”, he reiterated.
See the speech: https://aeur.eu/f/9in (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)