No images? Click here "Europe is a partner rather than an opponent"Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasizes that China aims to enhance collaboration with the EU INTRODUCTORY NOTE Dear readers, Welcome to the first edition of our updated newsletter! This bi-weekly communication provides you with an overview of relevant developments in China-EU relations and of important matters concerning China. Next to news updates, the newsletter will introduce viewpoints from experts and think tanks on China-related topics, inform about events, and present highlights from the Mission’s Twitter account. Happy reading! Mission of China to the EU IN THIS EDITIONNEWS EXPERTS' CORNER EVENTS NEWSCHINA-EU RELATIONS President Xi: China-Europe cooperation has shown tremendous potentialIn a phone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China-Europe relations will embrace new opportunities while simultaneously confronting various challenges. He talked about China's readiness to work with Spain to expand bilateral trade, promote joint projects, strengthen cooperation with Latin America and Africa and advance cultural exchanges. President Xi emphasised that China-Europe practical cooperation has shown tremendous potential despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Sanchez noted that it is important for all countries to work together and uphold multilateralism. CHINA-CEEC China to import over $170 billion from the CEEC in the coming five yearsPresident Xi sent a congratulatory letter on the occasion of the 2nd China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo. The letter notes that China-CEEC cooperation is an important platform for China and CEEC to strengthen their friendship, expand cooperation and seek common development. During the summit in February, President Xi presented China's plan to import over $170 billion from the CEEC in the coming five years and that China would strive to double the amount of agricultural imports from CEEC countries over the same period. Likewise, he promoted the construction of China-CEEC economic and trade cooperation demonstration zones in China's Ningbo and other places. The 2nd China-CEEC summit on 9 February 2021. CHINA-EU RELATIONS Premier Li: China and the EU should sign and ratify their investment agreement at an early dateIn a call with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Premier Li Keqiang pointed out that China highly values its relations with the EU and called on China and the EU to sign and ratify their investment agreement at an early date. He hoped that both sides could work towards pragmatic cooperation and to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation. For his part, PM Draghi said Italy attaches great importance to its comprehensive strategic partnership with China and is ready to work with China to deepen bilateral cooperation and strengthen their communication, coordination and cooperation on multilateral affairs, including fighting COVID-19, boosting global economic recovery and tackling climate change. CHINA-EU RELATIONS Wang Yi: Defending multilateralism is the most important consensus between China and EuropeState Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the foreign ministers of Poland, Serbia, Ireland and Hungary during their recent visit to China. The ministers agreed that strengthening dialogue and cooperation and resuming growth in the post-pandemic era are common goals for China and European countries. Reflecting on China-EU relations, they agreed that the right approach should revolve around constructive dialogue, enhanced mutual understanding, expanding the common ground and focusing on mutually beneficial cooperation. They agreed that the most important consensus is defending multilateralism. Foreign Minister Wang stressed that all four countries are important partners of China and that their relationships have withstood the test of changes in the international landscape. CHINA-EU RELATIONS Wang Yi: Cooperation between China and Europe represents the overriding trendState Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi participated in an online dialogue on China organized by the Munich Security Conference. He reiterated that China is a trustworthy partner to all countries and not a rival. He also noted that China is ready to practice true multilateralism with Europe and the rest of the world to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its center. Wang said that China regards Europe as a partner rather than an opponent and that it would always support the EU’s unity and self-reliance. Wang added that cooperation between China and Europe represents the overriding trend and proposed to expand their all-around cooperation on COVID-19, economic recovery, climate change, digital issues, people-to-people exchange and more. Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at a dialogue on China organized by the Munich Security Conference. CHINA'S DEVELOPMENT Expansion is just not part of China's DNAAmbassador Zhang Ming gave a lecture to the College of Europe on China's development and China-EU relations. Zhang touched upon China's development in the last 100 years, mentioning 850 million Chinese people had been lifted out of poverty. Unlike Europe, China had been an inward agrarian civilization that prevents it from seeking expansion outside its borders. As for China-EU relations, Zhang said he disagrees with the rivalry narrative and believes there are more opportunities than challenges in their cooperation. There will always be a loser in a rivalry and it goes against the Chinese philosophy of "harmony without uniformity", Zhang said, while expressing his expectation that China and the EU could find a way to rise above differences in systems based on mutual respect and mutually beneficial cooperation. Amb. Zhang Ming gave a lecture to the College of Europe. INSIDE CHINAWill China's anti-sanctions law affect its business environment?The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislator, adopted a law on countering foreign sanctions, providing a legal basis for the country to counter "discriminatory measures" from a foreign country. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the law has been formulated after studying legislative advice from various sectors which summarized China's anti-sanction practices, and taking into account related overseas legislation and soliciting opinions from various departments and experts. According to Li Qingming, a research fellow at the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the law is a defense tool to counter others' measures and it only "targets those entities or individuals that smear or suppress China and will not affect the market entities and ordinary citizens who are running their business legally in the country," Li explained. "The opening-up policy of China will not change because of the passage," Li added. EXPERTS' CORNERBRUEGELChina’s business environment has improved significantlyAccording to an article by Bruegel, contrary to the prevailing narrative, China’s business practices have improved significantly in recent years. China’s business environment is today generally more favourable than that in other large countries at similar levels of development and is in line with the OECD average. The article finds that both the World Economic Forum and the World Bank rank China highly for overall competitiveness and ease of doing business. Taking over the Unites States, China is now the first destination for foreign investment which shows that the Chinese market continues to attract American and European companies to conduct business in China. The article calls on the EU and the US to engage in negotiations for investment agreements with China which would be connected to accelerated reforms in the country. EUROPEAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN CHINA68% of European companies in China are optimistic about future growthThe European Chamber of Commerce in China released its European Business in China Business Confidence Survey 2021 which shows that the commitment of European businesses to China continues to stay strong. 68% of the survey's respondents are optimistic about future growth, with a record low of 9% considering shifting their current investments out of China. Despite the difficulties of the past year, three out of four respondents turned a profit and 42% were able to grow their revenue during 2020 which demonstrates that European companies adapted quickly to the new circumstances. Charlotte Roule, Board Member of the European Chamber, stated that geopolitical tensions are forcing companies to adapt some of their strategies. She explained that “European companies are not decoupling by leaving China, but instead are considering which cross-border ties between China operations and global ones can and must be cut.” SOCIAL MEDIA EVENTS - 23 June 2021: Water, road and rail: connecting Afro-Eurasia (Friends of Europe) Before you go...- Spokesperson of the Mission's responses to NATO Summit Communiqué and EU-US Summit Statement |