JAKARTA - The strengthening of China's position from the reform era and openness to the era of security and control requires the European Union (EU) to reduce risk diplomaticly and economically, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.
Ahead of next week's visit to China with French President Emmanuel Macron, von der Leyen delivered a wise assessment of China's policies, acknowledging relations with Beijing has become "farther and more difficult" in recent years.
"Given China's economic measure and global influence, EU management of this relationship will be a determining factor for the prosperity and economic security of the European Union," he said.
Von der Leyen said China bears the responsibility to advance "fair peace", to end the war in Ukraine which requires the withdrawal of Russian troops.
"How China continues to interact with Putin's war, will be a determining factor for the European Union-China relations in the future," von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels.
China, he said, has become more repressive at home and more assertive abroad, replacing the era of reform and openness with the era of security and control, where companies in China are required to assist with state intelligence gathering operations.
Von der Leyen said it was impossible to separate from China, but it was very important to focus on reducing the risks posed to Europe.
On the diplomatic side, this means working with partners on global issues, strengthening existing international order and institutions rather than competing with China.
At the same time, Europe needs to continue dialogue with China to raise difficult issues, but also to see how to work together in areas such as climate change and natural protection.
"This is part of the reason why I will visit Beijing together with President Macron," he explained.
Economically, the European Union needs to "rebalance" relations and reduce its dependence on China for major inputs, such as lithium and other important minerals.
The European Union, said von der Leyen, has had a series of moves to counter economic distortion and protect its security interests, but the bloc should also look at the high technology it shares with China that is changing.
The European Commission, he said, would present ideas later this year on measures to control investment out in certain sensitive technologies, to ensure they do not enhance military capabilities or intelligence from systemic rivals.
It is known, since 2019, the European Union has officially considered China a partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
