Belgium (Brussels, Morning Newspaper) The EU has been told it “must not shrink from taking a clear united and strong stance” against China.
The demand was made by senior German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer, Foreign Policy Coordinator of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament.
He was commenting on the EU’s China policy which is on the agenda of this week’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels.
Bütikofer says: “It is about time that Foreign Ministers return to discussing China. A plentitude of diplomatic contacts has helped create valuable insights into the development of the EU-China relationship.
“De-risking must be the guiding principle on our way forward vis-à-vis China. Commission president von der Leyen has laid out this principle with high plausibility and has received almost universal support for that. De-risking must be implemented in all the dimensions of our economic relations with China, be it on the level of individual economic actors, on the level of certain national economies or on the level of the EU’s common trade policy.”
The MEP added, “De-risking should, however, not be confined to the economic realm alone. We also need de-risking in other sectors. Europe must push back together against China’s aggressive stance on Taiwan which is increasing tensions and instability in the Taiwan Strait and beyond. Europe must hold China to account for its support of President Putin’s imperialist policies. Europe must together, and in collaboration with G77 countries, put pressure on China to deliver on its climate responsibilities.”
The Greens deputy said, “The completely unacceptable remarks of Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, putting in question the sovereignty of the Baltic states and other post-Soviet countries, have underscored the dangerous revisionist character of China’s foreign policy. The EU must not shrink from taking a clear united and strong stance. Beijing should be called upon to must disavow the ambassador’s remarks and the ambassador should be sent home.”
He also cited a letter reportedly sent to French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna from members of numerous European parliaments.
The letter says, “We write to raise to your attention our shared call for the French government to take decisive steps in response to the aggressive comments made by the Chinese Ambassador to France which clearly violate international law and must be seen as a threat against the security of European partner countries of France.
“The Ambassador asserted publicly that former Soviet Republics lacked effective status in international
law, arguing specifically that there is “no international agreement to materialize their status”.
The letter, from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, adds, “Such comments go well beyond the boundaries of acceptable diplomatic discourse. This is wolf warrior activity at its worst and should not go unanswered. Aside from representing a profound insult to the history, culture, and fundamental integrity of the nations concerned, the Ambassador’s words seek to undermine the core principles upon which predictable diplomatic relations depend. It is not for China – or any other nation – to call into question the sovereignty of others.”
