The EU is preparing for a big week of diplomacy with China, as Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will all travel to China, with some expecting a thaw in ties after Trump upended the transatlantic alliance with a series of tariff threats and other policy shifts. But the European Commission’s Deputy Director General for Trade Maria Martin-Prat dismissed the idea that the EU and China are moving closer together. Considering Europe, the U.S. and China as a triangle, many analysts have posited that one angle pulling further away would mean the other two necessarily grow closer. But Martin-Pratt said this was a bit “simplistic”. Asked about a more cooperative tone adopted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in two speeches earlier this year, which suggested that the EU and China could deepen trade and investment ties, the official said the German’s words should be considered alongside continued efforts to de-risk relations with Beijing. “I think you need to read the political messages sent by the President of the Commission, but also the policies she is putting in place, and I think that’s what gives you the overall picture,” Martin-Prat said at an event in Brussels.
Insiders said von der Leyen’s remarks – at separate speeches in Davos and Brussels – were aimed at three different audiences: Washington, to show Trump Europe has options; Beijing to suggest that they make Brussels a credible offer; and Berlin, ahead of the recent German election, to signal to her own political family’s conservative base that she is not a radical hawk on China. They should be viewed as “a deliberate signal, an outstretched hand” towards China, said another senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity. They do not mean, the second official insisted, that the EU will drop its bilateral concerns with Beijing, but that the door is open for a better relationship if China shows a willingness to “do things in a more balanced way”. The EU is already laying the groundwork to continue to de-risk its relationship with the world’s second largest economy, even as it faces pressure to do the same with the United States. Martin-Prat pointed to recent moves to counter Chinese industrial overcapacity, including a steel and metals action plan, a technology transfer plan for the automotive sector, and a clean industrial deal. In each case, the aim is to reduce dependencies on Chinese goods and place barriers to their import or selection in procurement tenders.
“So in that respect, that political message does not steer away from the message of de-risking,” Martin-Prat said, adding that: “Any politician today needs to be able to say: We want to continue to engage with China. We want to see whether we can address a number of problems, specific market access, even if you may or may not have your ideas as to where the long term is going to take you,” as reported by the South China Morning Post.
