EU and China to talk trade as tensions mount
13 September, 2020
EU leaders will hold training video talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Monday (Sep 14) hoping to create progress on trade and purchase, even while tensions mount between Beijing and the West above Hong Kong and the treating minority Uighurs.
The virtual meeting between top Chinese officials and EU Council President Charles Michel, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, replaces a complete summit with all 27 European leaders which needed to be cancelled due to coronavirus.
China has said an expenditure offer already seven years in the making could be agreed by the finish of the entire year, but EU officials warn significant obstacles remain and insist they will not agree to unfavourable conditions only to cut a deal.
"Even if there is a political objective to accelerate negotiations and conclude them by the end of the entire year, we could have this only if it really is something worth having," a great EU official said.
Brussels says "significant improvement" has been manufactured in talks since an identical video summit found in June, and officials desire to agree a "roadmap" to get a offer done by the finish of the year, nonetheless they as well warn Beijing must do more to boost market gain access to for European companies.
Brussels really wants to reinforce respect for intellectual property, end obligations to transfer technology and see a reduction in subsidies for Chinese public enterprises.
CHINA-US TENSIONS
No important breakthrough is expected on Monday but the EU aspect hopes to persuade Xi, China's paramount head, to give refreshing political impetus to the talks - and allow his negotiators considerably more room to compromise.
The assembly comes as ties between China and the US deteriorate, with both sides locked in fierce recriminations over trade disputes, human being rights and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Washington and Beijing this week imposed reciprocal curbs on each other's diplomats, after another tit-for-tat in July when both governments ordered the closure of consulates in Houston and Chengdu.
Both sides have sought to enlist the EU in their spat, and during a visit to Brussels by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in June, the EU's diplomatic chief Josep Borrell mooted talks to forge a common transatlantic front against China.
But little progress has been produced on this initiative and broadly Brussels has recommended to forge a middle path, treating Beijing as both a potential mate and a "systemic rival".
"The EU stands organization on its interests and ideals but also really wants to cooperate with China," a senior EU official said.
Pompeo and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have both toured European capitals above the summer wanting to drum up support.
"What is absolutely important found in this is actually the EU would not turn into a battleground for these tensions, but the EU would be a stabilising point and defend its own interests and universal ideals," the state said.
HONG KONG
The EU is set to press Xi on Hong Kong, where Beijing has imposed a controversial new security laws - a approach denounced by the West as a significant assault on the city's freedoms.
Following the June summit, von der Leyen warned China would face "extremely negative consequences" if it pressed ahead with regulations and a month in the future the EU decided to limit exports to Hong Kong of equipment that may be used for surveillance and repression.
European concerns about China's rights record are developing: During a visit by Wang to Berlin previous this month, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called China away above Hong Kong and its own treatment of minority Uighurs.
But the EU is far from united how to cope with China, with plenty of member says urging a tougher stance to receive Beijing to accomplish better on rights and the environment and others favouring a gentler method of boost trade.
Moreover, Beijing has used its mammoth "Belt and Road" infrastructure scheme to properly pick off investment-hungry EU member claims such as Greece, Portugal and Italy.
On climate alter, Brussels hopes to press China to become more ambitious in its initiatives to cut emissions.
"Our Chinese friends carry out have a behavior of not attempting to overpromise and under-deliver," an EU official said.
"They have already been extremely prudent found in the commitments they have made... but that is no longer enough time for excess prudence."
The EU wants a committed action from Beijing to peak its emissions in 2025 and achieve climate neutrality by 2060, together with ending investment in coal power.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com