EU says not seeking escalation with China, working on investment deal
May 7, 2021, 9:34 am

EU says not seeking escalation with China, working on investment deal

National Flag of the People's Republic of China and EU European Union flag. (Stock photo)

The European Union is not seeking an escalation of tensions with China, and the situation with a stalled investment agreement is less dramatic than people think, the bloc’s ambassador in Beijing said on Friday.

In March the EU imposed its first significant sanctions against Chinese officials since 1989 over alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, amid a push by the United States to marshal its allies to counter Beijing’s increasingly assertive foreign policy.

Beijing, which denies the allegations, hit back by blacklisting some EU lawmakers and entities, and progress on a major investment accord stalled as relations became strained.

Speaking to reporters, EU Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis said the bloc won’t be stopped from saying what it wanted to.

“We are not seeking ... escalation, but nothing will deter the European Union from saying what it wants to say wherever it wants,” he said.

The bloc’s executive arm, the European Commission is pausing efforts to promote the comprehensive agreement on investment, or CAI, recognizing that it will struggle to secure backing from the EU parliament while lawmakers are under sanctions.

Chapuis said the situation with the deal was not quite that bleak.

“The situation is less dramatic than people seem to think. We are still working very closely with (China’s) Ministry of Commerce,” he added.

He said nothing is stopping China ratifying the deal before Europe, and that he looks forward to its early ratification by Beijing but “political space” needs to be created for the European Parliament to approve it.

“Today it’s too early to tell whether this political space will be available, large enough, sufficient enough.”

Speaking at an EU reception shortly after Chapuis’ comments, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang said the two sides should push for the early implementation of the investment agreement.

China hopes the EU can see China “objectively and rationally”, Qin said.

source: Reuters

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.