Chinese foreign minister seeks to mend fences with EU in Rome

Wang Yi held separate meetings with Italian and Dutch leaders and his French counterpart on sidelines of G20 summit
Tensions have escalated between China and the bloc over a growing list of issues including Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan

China-EU relations

Laura Zhou

Published: 5:30pm, 1 Nov 2021

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held talks with several European leaders on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rome, seeking to repair ties with the EU.

Wang, who is attending the Rome summit on behalf of President Xi Jinping, had separate meetings on Sunday with the leaders of Italy and the Netherlands.

In talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Wang urged the European Union to “stick to strategic autonomy, exclude interference and build consensus on dialogue and cooperation”, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry on Monday.

“China and Europe are partners rather than rivals, collaborators rather than competitors,” Wang told Draghi. “We do hope the Italian side can play an active role in the healthy development of China-EU relations.” He said mutual respect was necessary and the two sides should see their development in an “inclusive mind” and accept each other’s differences.

The Italian government said the talks “focused on the prospects of the bilateral cooperation, on the relations between the EU and China and on the opportunity to restart the dialogue on human rights”.

Relations have deteriorated between China and the European Union. Photo: Reuters

Wang later met Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, telling him that China saw the Netherlands as “the gateway to cooperation” with Europe and the two nations should seek “broader development in bilateral relations … to give impetus to China-EU relations”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

He also called for the Netherlands to “provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies”, without elaborating. Beijing has been lobbying the Dutch government to renew an export licence for the sale of critical chip-making technology – essential for advanced microprocessors – to China, but the deal is on hold because of pressure from the US.

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Beijing’s latest efforts to woo European powers come as tensions have escalated between China and the 27-member EU over a growing list of issues including Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan.

Relations nosedived in May when the EU parliament halted ratification of a major investment treaty following tit-for-tat sanctions over alleged human rights abuses against Uygurs in China’s Xinjiang region.

China meanwhile remains locked in a geopolitical rivalry with the United States, and is looking for stronger ties with Europe to counter pressure from Washington.

Beijing has repeatedly urged Brussels to maintain autonomy on foreign policy, including when Chinese leader Xi spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron by phone last week and called for more high-level communication to improve mutual trust.

In Rome, Foreign Minister Wang also met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Saturday, urging France to maintain mutually beneficial cooperation and “promote the sustained, healthy and stable development of China-EU relations” when it takes over the rotating EU presidency in January.

Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, said the EU’s “friendship” with China would depend on how Beijing responded to some of the bloc’s key concerns. He cited calls for reform of China’s industrial policies, action on climate change, and observance of the rule of law, among others. “Many of these policy reforms are eminently achievable, especially if Xi Jinping, with his immense political power, chooses to put his foot on the pedal,” Gupta said.

“China needs to double down on the difficult reform and opening up of its industrial subsidies regime – an important policy priority of the Europeans,” he said. “As China’s economic regulatory architecture increasingly mimics that of advanced economy countries, it will ensure that not only does it have a friend in Europe but a partner with an abiding political and economic interest.”

Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, said Europe was not rethinking relations with China to “gang up” with the US. “[They are] rethinking relations … because China’s own policies are causing concern in Europe. The EU is not worried about a China that is rising, but it is worried about a rising China that undermines the core values Europeans hold dear,” he said.

Additional reporting by Kristin Huang

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Beijing moves to mend fences with EU members