Promoting Cooperation with China Tests Europe's Sincerity, Determination

By Ou Shi

Apr 06, 2025 09:35 PM

Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

In the past week or so, several European officials visited China, including Italy's Senate President Ignazio La Russa, Portugal's Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic. According to foreign media reports, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will also visit China soon. The visiting European officials have sent a unanimous signal of cooperation with China. They believe that China is an important partner, are willing to transcend differences and disagreements through dialogue, and join hands with China to address challenges while jointly opposing unilateralism and protectionism.

The rapid and profound evolution of the international landscape, especially Washington's strong impact, seems to be pushing the European side to collectively launch a "diplomatic offensive" toward China. Since the beginning of the new US presidency, Washington's words and deeds have undermined the foundation on which Europe relies for its survival and development. In contrast, China's "support of European integration and the EU's strategic autonomy" and its "confidence" in the bloc are invaluable.

However, Europe's pragmatic shift in its attitude toward China is not easy, as there are still many on the continent who believe that the transatlantic alliance will not collapse completely and that it is "politically incorrect" to view China as a partner. For instance, the EU's Deputy Director General for Trade Maria Martin-Prat recently described the idea of improving relations with China as "simplistic" thinking and reiterated the "de-risking" policy toward China.

Europe should have a long-term strategic vision. China is not the EU's "token of allegiance" to the US, nor is it a steppingstone for the EU to prove it worth more. The development of relations with China should not be a stopgap measure, nor should it become a policy tool against the US.

China-EU cooperation is substantial in volume, broad in scope, resilient and full of potential. It is not only a source of well-being for the people on both sides, but also an anchor of peace, stability and development in today's world, which is why China-EU relations hold intrinsic value. China's development of relations with Europe has always been sincere and China has never "laughed on the side" amid the US-Europe trade war as EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas feared. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, China and France signed a joint statement on climate change. All parties look forward to China and the EU jointly demonstrating the role of great powers and playing a greater leading role in global governance.

The sense of urgency on the European side to safeguard its own interests is evident. The French foreign minister's visit to China before the larger US tariffs came into effect, along with China's agreement to a three-month delay in imposing additional tariffs on France's cognac industry, has provided a valuable "breathing space" for French liquor producers. This once again reflects China's sincerity in developing cooperation with the EU and in properly resolving differences.

However, according to informed sources involved in last week's China-EU talks, the European side is focused on addressing its own concerns, but has not adequately considered China's reasonable demands. Whether China-EU relations can achieve greater development depends on the willingness of both sides to move toward each other. "Fair competition" and "openness on an equal footing" are also concerns for China. Whether the European side can properly resolve prominent issues, such as the high tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, will serve as a test of its sincerity and determination.

The author is an observer of international affairs. [email protected]