Beijing's attitude towards Russia and its threats against Taiwan harm Europe's disposition towards it
The anti-Chinese front in the EU is getting stronger, writes the South China Morning Post. As Beijing continues to support Russia, European countries are threatening to undermine China's ties. According to the author of the article, the geopolitical factor is now above the economic one.
Emanuele Scimia
When Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Yucheng met with Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov last week, he described the Russian-Chinese partnership in words that Europeans found frightening: "No matter how the international situation changes, China will continue to strengthen strategic cooperation with Russia in the interests of mutually beneficial cooperation."
Beijing's ambivalent attitude towards the Russian special operation in Ukraine and its repeated threats against Taiwan are destroying the consensus that China has been forming with great efforts in various European circles. First of all, this applies to the mechanism of cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe called 16 +1, which includes 11 members of the European Union.
China remains the EU's main trading partner. The volume of bilateral trade exceeded 695 billion euros last year. But one should not draw false conclusions from this. China's undisguised ties with Russia cause anger among Europeans.
A typical example of this was the Czech Republic. The government of this country, following the example of the EU, recently told Chinese diplomats that if their country violates or tries to circumvent Western sanctions against Russia, the consequences will be significant.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavski also stressed that Europe should help democracies that are being intimidated, such as Taiwan. This was an explicit reference to Beijing's claims to this island.
It was a sharp reversal in relations between the Czech Republic and China. President Milos Zeman at one time wanted to turn his country into an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" for Chinese investments in Europe.
There are more and more European initiatives against China's position. The Swedish parliament will soon hold a debate on a proposal to rename its representative office in Taiwan and raise its status. This was stated two weeks ago during a visit to Taipei by a Swedish legislator.
It is worth noting that when Vilnius simply allowed the word "Taiwanese" to be used in the name of the diplomatic mission of this island in Lithuania, this caused retaliatory commercial measures on the part of Beijing, which considers Taiwan a "rebellious province".
Speaking about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that China should take the right side of history, and the EU should help it in this. Judging by the words of Le Yucheng in a conversation with the Russian ambassador, the Chinese believe that they are on this side.
Sweden often argues with China over human rights violations by the Xi Jinping administration, but Finland had no serious disagreements with Beijing before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania have also tightened their positions towards China.
The EU usually responds to China's threats not with political measures, but with trade means. The attitude of the European bloc to the Sino-Lithuanian dispute has shown that it has retained its traditional way of acting.
The EU has complained to the WTO about the Chinese practice of forcing Lithuania. It was an economic and procedural response, although the problem is actually political. European authorities and institutions should support Lithuania, but at the same time they do not want to annoy China.
In January, MP Matas Maldeikis, who heads the Friendship Group with Taiwan, told me that many Europeans began to realize the need to change their attitude towards China after its dispute with Lithuania.
"This is a general trend, which is primarily caused by China's behavior," he said. "As Xi Jinping's administration strengthens party control over the Chinese economy, abandoning reforms and principles of openness, the EU countries naturally change their attitude towards Beijing."
The states of Central and Eastern Europe understand that, contrary to Chinese statements, investments from this country have always gone to Western Europe. In February last year, six EU member states (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria) were represented at the annual summit of the Group of 17+1 (then Lithuania was still part of it) by second-level ministers, and some observers regarded this as a direct insult to President Xi.
China's open assistance to Russia, especially of a military nature, will further tighten Europe's position. After the EU's response to Russian military actions in Ukraine, it is likely that an attack on Taiwan will become a crossing of the boundaries of what is permissible for Europe in relations with Beijing.
The EU would probably have taken a firmer anti-Chinese position if Taipei had shown its readiness to build semiconductor manufacturing enterprises in Europe. Eric Huang, who heads the Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania, said last month that Taiwan is ready to develop a project that will combine Lithuanian lasers and Taiwanese semiconductor technologies.
Despite Le's loud statements about the Russian-Chinese partnership, Beijing is currently working in damage control mode. Last week, he sent the Special Representative for Central and Eastern Europe, Huo Yuzhen, on a tour of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Poland.
He was given an ungracious reception, at least in Prague. Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Tlapa told the Chinese guest that Beijing's close cooperation with Russia threatens to undermine ties with the European Union.
Then last week, China ratified two International Labor Organization conventions on forced labor. Many regarded this as an attempt to revive the process of ratification by the European Union of the comprehensive investment deal agreed in December 2020.
The Russian special operation has given NATO a new impetus. Previously neutral Sweden and Finland decided to apply for membership in the alliance. Thus, China's attitude to the Ukrainian crisis may lead to the strengthening of a vast anti-Chinese front within the EU, which will become a blood enemy of the 16+1 initiative.
This time, the enterprises of Germany and France that are friends with Beijing will no longer be able to maintain Sino-European ties in their former form. The sunk Russian-German megaproject "Nord Stream — 2" proves that the requirements of geopolitics are now above economic considerations.