China is fast losing its friends and allies in Europe while it pursues policies and decisions that seek to dominate international politics and the global supply chain. Notwithstanding China’s potential to become a superpower, many countries are rethinking their relationships with Beijing in the post-Covid era. The lacklustre performance of China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI), unfair trade practices, security threats, and recent fears of dumping of electric vehicles are major reasons for the European block to reformulate its policies in respect of the relations with Beijing.
Italy in 2023 signalled the end to the friendly relations with China when it criticised Beijing for unfair trade practices and contemplated delinking itself from the BRI. “China is one of our competitors. We want good relations, but the rules must be the same for everyone,” said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “Therefore, we say no to social and environmental dumping, unfair competition, and the stealing of know-how instead of long-term investment”.[1]
Soon Italy formally withdrew from the BRI, which was seen as Rome calibrating its relationship with Beijing and aligning with the stand taken by the US-led west block.[2] European Union has already expressed concerns over unfair trade practices adopted by China, especially, in the context of state support for electric vehicles.[3] Many European countries are distancing themselves from China, said foreign affairs expert
Emanuele Scimia. “It seems China is losing the capacity to influence matters inside Europe,” he said.
Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe have developed resentment and distrust against China thanks to economic coercion and the stand Beijing took in the Ukraine conflict. Jakub Jakobowski, a senior fellow at Poland’s Centre for Eastern Studies. “Most of the countries in this region have a strong allergy to the Communist Party system and have bad feelings about China’s political system. The trend of the region distancing itself from China will not stop.”[4]
Concerns have been raised by observers and politicians in the UK on the ties with China in 2020. It became evident post-Chinese violation of health regulations that pushed the entire world into the grip of the Covid pandemic and security threats arising from the hardware supplied by the Chinese telecom giant Huawei. “Rather than strapping ourselves to the Chinese economy, we should take the lead in establishing a new global coalition that values freedom, democracy and accountability,” said London-based political consultant Tom Pridham.[5]
Lawmakers in the UK now have sought the government to rethink the relations with China. They said it was time to recognise the China Communist Party (CCP) being a threat to the country.[6] UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed “very strong concerns” about Chinese interference in the country’s parliamentary democracy, which he said was “obviously unacceptable” when he met Chinese Premier Li Qiang a few months ago.[7]
A new China policy adopted by Germany has stopped considering China as primarily a partner for business affairs. “The new rules of the game in government ministries and the chancellery in Berlin are to see China as a rival towards which it is increasingly necessary to voice an assertive “no” with regards to certain investment projects in defined industrial and service sectors,” said Jens Bastian, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.[8]
The latest policy is the end of Germany’s China illusion, said Janka Oertel, director of Asia Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).[9] Germany’s new approach can help other European countries deal with the risks associated with trade and diplomatic relations with China.[10] “Berlin’s strategy highlighted the need for EU states to reformulate their bilateral relations with Beijing,” said Alicja Bachulska, a policy fellow at ECFR. “The very publication of the strategy indicated the overall change in the direction of Germany’s foreign policy, which will greatly affect the EU’s approach.
Earlier, many European countries showed their anger over coercive trade tactics and reports of surveillance through telecom devices by the Chinese. Now, they are concerned about damages to the local automobile industry due to cheap Chinese electric vehicles.[11] So EU ordered an investigation into the unfair trade practices. This has led to a fall in the imports of Chinese automobiles to Europe.[12] Whatever decision China takes about retaliation, its overall relations with European countries have hit rough weather.
END.
[1] https://www.esteri.it/en/sala_stampa/archivionotizie/interviste/2023/05/tajani-se-si-blocca-il-mar-nero-nuova-ondata-di-migranti-il-messaggero/
[2] https://www.csis.org/analysis/italy-withdraws-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative
[3] https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/09/13/we-have-not-forgotten-how-chinas-unfair-trade-practices-affected-our-solar-industry/
[4] https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/How-China-continues-to-lose-friends-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe
[5] https://www.1828.org.uk/2020/04/13/the-uk-needs-a-fundamental-rethink-of-its-relationship-with-china/
[6] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66770842
[7] https://www.reuters.com/world/pm-sunak-raises-concern-over-interference-uk-democracy-with-chinas-li-2023-09-10/
[8] https://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/fachpublikationen/Jens_Bastian_Leading_a_rethink_of_China%E2%80%99s_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_New_Eastern_Europe_Issue_No._6_2023.pdf
[9] https://ecfr.eu/article/the-end-of-germanys-china-illusion/
[10] https://ecfr.eu/article/beyond-business-as-usual-a-china-strategy-for-poland/
[11] https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2024/03/08/if-europe-penalizes-chinas-ev-imports-unintended-consequences-loom/
[12] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-26/china-s-ev-exports-to-eu-slump-at-start-of-year-amid-probe
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