Q: At the plenary session on December 12, the European Parliament adopted a report on EU-China relations and a resolution on EU-Taiwan trade and investment relations. The report states that China is a partner but also increasingly a competitor and systemic rival to the EU and calls for carrying out a review and update of the EU’s China strategy in 2019 in view of the new geopolitical context. The European Parliament also adopts a resolution that calls on the EU to pursue a bilateral investment agreement and a resilient supply chain agreement with Taiwan and support Taiwan’s presence in international forums. What’s your comment?

A: The relevant report and resolution, while acknowledging China’s role as a partner of the EU, also describe China as a systemic rival by playing up differences in ideology and values, and even accuse China of shifting the core of China-EU relations towards systemic rivalry. We strongly disagree with this claim as it makes no constructive contribution to the improvement and development of bilateral relations. Additionally, the report and resolution make unwarranted accusations against China’s political, economic, social, and foreign policies, smear China’s human rights situation based on prejudice and lies, and finger-point on the Taiwan question as well as issues concerning Xinjiang, Xizang, Hong Kong and Macao. These constitute a serious breach of China’s sovereignty and interference in China’s internal affairs, running counter to the basic norms governing international relations and the EU’s political commitments. We firmly oppose such accusations.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. At the recent China-EU Summit, President Xi Jinping stressed the need to take stock of history, navigate the trend of the world, and uphold the apt description of our relationship as comprehensive strategic partnership. We should not view each other as rivals just because our systems are different, reduce cooperation because competition exists, or engage in confrontation because there are disagreements. As two major forces, markets, and civilizations, China and the EU have the responsibility to provide greater stability for the world and stronger impetus for development, especially in a world of changes and chaos. This necessitates safeguarding our relationship from the undue influence of ideological differences and geopolitics. Conflict and confrontation, which serve no one’s interests, will only hurt the two sides and the world at large.

At the same time, we have noticed some encouraging voices during the European Parliament’s plenary session. Some MEPs recognized China’s role as a significant partner of the EU and advocated enhanced dialogue and proper difference management. These voices, grounded in objectivity and rationality, need to be heard amid the noises of ideological bias and disinformation. We urge the European Parliament to embrace a comprehensive and unbiased perspective on China’s development and progress, abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop making irresponsible remarks. Instead, greater efforts are needed to promote the sound development of China-EU relations.