But for many analysts, the source of internal division within the EU is not caused by China. Xiong Wei, a professor of international relations at China Foreign Affairs University, argued that the EU’s hardened position against China stems from increased anxiety over China’s rise. “Not only has the EU’s international competitiveness been declining in the past years, it also faces challenges from within, such as the impact of Brexit and the rise of far-right parties in some member states,” Wang said. “Therefore, it is very convenient to use China as a scapegoat.”
“By highlighting the threat posed by a common external enemy like China, the EU can inject a sense of urgency in calling for unity between its member states,” Xiong told NewsChina.
Xiong’s view is shared by Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at the Renmin University of China. Wang argued that the reasons behind the different positions held by EU member states toward China do not lie in China, but in the different historical and current situations of its member states.
For example, Wang pointed out that France’s resistance to China’s Belt and Road Initiative stems from its concerns over China’s increasing influence in the Francophone former colonies in Africa. By contrast, for Italy, which does not have a large colonial legacy and is now facing financial difficulties, cooperation with China is welcomed.
David Dodwell, executive director of the Hong Kong-APEC Trade Policy Study Group, put it more bluntly. In an opinion piece published in the South China Morning Post on March 24, Dodwell argued that the problem with the EU strategy toward China lies in its insistence on dismissing China along with other developing countries merely as technology-dependent sources of simple goods and cheap commodities.
“For the past five decades in the EU’s history, Europe’s leaders have been self-obsessed, far more concerned with building stronger, closer links between themselves than with adjusting to the fast-changing realities of the global economy, in particular across Asia,” Dodwell wrote.
For other analysts, the EU’s hardened position against China at a time when Beijing is entangled in a trade war and tough negotiations with the US is tactical. Kong Fan, a columnist with guancha.cn, warned that the EU is adopting a strategy of “having a foot in both camps” in its trilateral interactions with the US and China.
On one hand, the EU appears to be ready to adopt a common stance with China to speak against the US administration’s protectionism and unilateralism. On the other hand, it did not mind joining the US-led attacks on China’s trade practices.
Balancing between the US and China allowed the EU to fend off pressure from the US, and with a tougher position, it could exploit the weakened position of China, as Beijing may have to face assaults from multiple fronts.
Moreover, reports in the past couple of months claim that major progress in the US-China trade talks may also have the EU worried that the eventual deal could put EU companies in a disadvantaged position regarding access to the Chinese market.
Jyrki Katainen, vice-president of the European Commission, in January warned the US and China that any trade deal reached between the two should avoid discriminating against European companies.
With the signing of the keynote joint statement with China, in which the two sides reaffirmed their strategic partnership and agreed on various thorny issues, the EU and China seem to have achieved their respective goals. While the EU managed to have China address its trade grievances, and is now more assured about its access to the Chinese market, China emerged with a consolidated position in its trade talks with the US.
But challenges remain for both sides. For China, the months of trade talks with the US have not resulted in a final deal. For the EU, trade tensions with the US appeared to have resurfaced. On April 9, the same day the EU signed the joint statement with China, US President Donald Trump threatened the US would impose tariffs on US$11 billion of products from the EU. In response, the EU threatened to retaliate with tariffs on US$20 billion worth of US products.
Obviously the US will continue to be a crucial factor in shapingw the direction of EU-China ties.