This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-EU diplomatic relations. China and the EU are, indeed, different in many ways, including political systems, ideologies, governance, among many others. However, the two sides have more reasons to cooperate than to fight. As Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said in the meeting with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio on July 29, it is important for China and the EU to respect, appreciate and learn from each other, to make the world a more diverse place that celebrates common progress and prosperity between countries with different civilizations and development models.
The two sides are committed to a comprehensive strategic partnership, but the EU's position towards China is very complex. It labeled China as "a cooperation partner," "a negotiating partner," "an economic competitor" and "a systemic rival" in its policy statement entitled "EU-China - A strategic outlook in 2019." Because of these complex perspectives, which the EU has towards China, the tools and modalities of EU engagement with China have been differentiated depending on the issues and policies at stake. It has been proactive in its trade and investment dealings with China, but has taken measures that may undermine bilateral relations.
It seems that the EU is still open to cooperation with China, especially on trade and investment, but there remain some issues standing in the way of bilateral relations. As European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said at the 8th China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, "we also need to address sticking points, such as reciprocity in the way our companies are treated. We will need to make further progress on these and other issues ahead of the next leaders' summit in the autumn."
However in my eyes, China and the EU are not systemic rivals, but comprehensive strategic partners. The two sides share extensive economic interests that make cooperation a necessity, rather than a choice. China and the EU are two of the biggest traders in the world. China is now the EU's second-biggest trading partner behind the U.S. and the EU is China's biggest trading partner. According to the statistics of the European Commission, China is the EU's biggest source of imports and its second-biggest export market.
Therefore, China and the EU have a significant stake in each other's prosperity and sustainable growth. The two sides are more partners than competitors, and certainly not systemic rivals, as evidenced by the trade figures. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, in the first half of this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and the EU reached over 284 billion US dollars. In a globalized world, it is only natural that two of the biggest economies, with different models of governance, may compete in one way or another, but they are very complementary to each other as well. The two sides can benefit far more from cooperation than what they may lose from competition or rivalry.
In addition, despite the challenges brought by COVID-19 and escalating China-U.S. tensions, we have recently seen frequent high-level exchanges between China and the EU: on July 28, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis co-chaired the 8th China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue; on July 29, Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng held a video meeting with European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans. It seems that bilateral relations are gaining more momentum, as both sides are coping with COVID-19 and its disastrous repercussions.
"The current crisis gives us no other option but to work hand in hand with our global partners, including China. By pulling together, we can recover more quickly economically, and make progress in areas of mutual interest such as trade and investment relations," said Dombrovskis ahead of the bilateral dialogue.
However, as the two sides make progress on bilateral talks, the U.S. will be watching closely, and the last thing it would like to see is closer China-EU ties. Whether the EU can maintain its strategic independence under increasing pressure from the U.S. and act in its own fundamental and long-term interests is a major test for EU leaders. As the U.S. is stoking up ideological confrontation for selfish gains, the EU needs to stay vigilant. More importantly, the EU and China need to work closely together to address global challenges, resist the trend of de-globalization, and advance multilateralism, so as to facilitate rapid economic recovery and deliver tangible benefits to people on both sides.
