European officials are gearing up for talks on the best way to take care of China after a series of controvertial events.
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China said Monday it respects the independence of former Soviet nations after remarks by its ambassador in France were deemed “unacceptable” in Europe.
It comes because the 27 members of the European Union reassess their diplomatic and economic relationship with Beijing.
Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, told French media on Friday that countries formerly a part of the Soviet Union lacked status in international law. A transcript with the ambassador’s remarks was removed by the Chinese Embassy on Monday morning, in line with Bloomberg.
The comment sparked criticism in several European capitals, particularly within the Baltic nations, which broke free from the united states after it collapsed in 1991.
“We will not be ex-Soviet countries. We’re countries that were illegally occupied by the Soviet Union,” Lithuania Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Luxembourg.
That sentiment was echoed by Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Margus Tsahkna, “We’re an independent country, member of the EU, of NATO. I hope there can be a proof.”
Speaking also in Luxembourg, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said the comments of the Chinese ambassador were “totally unacceptable.”
“We’re denouncing such an announcement and I hope that the bosses of this ambassador will make things straight,” Lipavsky said.
It was inside this context, that the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mao Ning, said Monday, “China respects the status of the previous Soviet republics as sovereign countries after the Soviet Union’s dissolution.”
That is just the most recent episode in a series of controversial events between China and the European Union.
EU to ‘recalibrate’ China strategy
Coming back from a visit to China earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU must have its own policy on Taiwan and to avoid following the U.S. agenda on the matter. He later added that being allies doesn’t mean being vassals, reinforcing the concept of an independent EU policy.
Macron’s intervention was criticized within the U.S., but additionally in Germany and other European nations. Overall, some EU countries are afraid of clashing with america, particularly given its critical role on security and defense.
Macron’s comments also exposed a divide throughout the EU about what type of relationship the bloc wants with China. Some are afraid of antagonizing China and endangering deep economic ties, while others favor the trans-Atlantic alliance.
The topic can be debated among the many 27 heads of state, including Macron and Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, at a gathering in June.
“We are going to reassess and recalibrate our strategy towards China,” the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Monday.
Nonetheless, that is prone to be an extended and hard discussion and it stays to be seen whether the bloc can be united on the matter.
In 2022, China was the biggest source of EU imports and the third-largest buyer of EU goods, highlighting the economic importance that Beijing has for Europe. This is especially relevant when economic growth within the EU is vulnerable to the continuing war in Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in March that China is a systemic rival, an economic competitor and a strategic partner. This then applies in a different way to numerous policies. As an illustration, for climate matters, the EU believes China is usually a strategic partner; but in the case of providing market access, the bloc complains that Beijing is a competitor.
Nonetheless, combining all of those different dynamics may very well be hard to attain.
“Managing this relationship and having an open and frank exchange with our Chinese counterparts is a key a part of what I’d call the de-risking through diplomacy of our relationships with China,” von der Leyen said ahead of a visit to Beijing.
“We are going to never be shy in raising the deeply concerning issues I actually have already set out. But I feel we must leave space for a discussion on a more ambitious partnership and on how we are able to make competition fairer and more disciplined,” she added.
