China asks the EU to “clarify” its position on the bilateral relationship

The head of diplomacy ChinaWang Yi asked the European Union “clarify” his position on his relations with Beijing in a meeting with the head of European foreign policy, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Saturday.

“The EU should (…) clarify its position on the strategic partnership between the two sides and encourage China-EU relations to move forward,” Wang told Josep Borrell at a meeting on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia summit in Jakarta on Friday, according to a ministry statement.

“You must not hesitate, much less encourage words and deeds to go back”he insisted.

“There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and the EU,” Wang also assured, the main person in charge of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party, a hierarchical rank superior to that of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

These statements come after the German government unveiled on Thursday its new strategy against what it called a China “more offensive”

“Our goal is not to disassociate ourselves [de China] but we want to reduce critical dependencies in the future”assured the head of the German government, Olaf Scholz.

China immediately warned Germany against any attitude that might “harm cooperation and mutual trust”.

This new German strategy occurs against a background of growing concern in Europe and the United States about China’s ambitions.

The COVID-19 crisis in 2020 revealed the fragility of European supply chains, victims of closed borders, while the war in Ukraine exposed the risk of relying on Russia for gas supplies.

Some EU member states are afraid of antagonizing Beijing and triggering a trade war, while others are pushing instead to protect themselves further.

Brussels wants to define its own approach to Beijing to find a balance between fear of excessive dependency and the desire to maintain strong ties with the world’s second largest economy.

Source: AFP