EU leaders should avoid getting into “China phobia” when they draw up a plan to deal with the economic superpower this month, said Bernd Lange, the chairman of the European Parliament’s trade committee.
The first substantive debate on the EU’s relationship with China is expected to take place at a summit in Brussels this year, when EU leaders meet on June 18 and 19.
“Closing the doors makes no sense, either economically or politically,” said the senior German Social Democrat. Euractiv’s Main newsletter Reporter in an interview.
However, he said there are “several problems” in the current relationship, citing Beijing’s currency undervaluation, unfair trade practices and rising global car exports.
An EU official said the aim of the summit’s discussion will be to create a “common understanding” on how to respond to unfair global business competition, “especially from international players like China”.
An early draft of the European conclusions, however, did not mention China, suggesting the leaders would only have a broader debate about “global economic competition and challenges” and discuss “global macroeconomic imbalances”.
Lange pointed out that there are a number of economic problems stemming from China. “What’s really a big problem is the whole issue of security and cyber security,” he added. “We have to be stricter.”
He also said the EU should become less dependent on China for strategic imports, such as critical raw materials.
Times ‘change’
Lange, who made a trip to South Africa last week, said the way China has “destroyed” the African nation’s textile industry has changed the calculus.
Pretoria thought for years that China was the ideal anti-colonial power, but countries that have long sought non-alignment are flocking to the EU as a beacon of stability even as the US overturns global trade policy, he said.
Many countries, like Indonesia, are rethinking “who is really trustworthy,” Lange said.
European commissioners held a closed-door discussion on China last week, declaring that “the current state of trade and investment relations is not sustainable”.
Measures to counter China are being held back at the EU level by Germany and Spain, two countries with close trade ties to China.
Diplomats and EU officials see China’s soft power in trade as undermined by the country’s support for Russia, creating a difficult political climate for European leaders to visit Beijing.
Nicoletta Ionta contributed reporting
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