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Diplomats speak of mounting outrage at China’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic, including inflated prices from Chinese medical equipment suppliers and the government’s reluctance to listen to the country’s actions. Finally, Beijing’s anti-crisis measures eroded confidence at a time when the country had an opportunity to demonstrate its global leadership.
“In these few months, China has lost Europe,” said Reinhard Buetikofer, the legislature of the German Green Party, which chairs the European Parliament (EP) delegation for relations with China. He mentioned concerns raised by a variety of Chinese actions, from the “fact-finding” in the early stages of the virus crisis to the “extremely aggressive” stance of the Beijing Foreign Ministry and the “hard-line propaganda” that defends the supremacy of the Communist Party over democracy.
According to Buetikofer, this is not a single action, but rather a “predominant approach that reflects not a desire to build partnerships, but a desire to dictate to people what to do.”
At a time when the Trump administration has resumed its attacks on China, European officials have traditionally been less inclined to openly criticize, in part for fear of retaliation. The fact that politicians in Berlin, Paris, London and Brussels express concern over Beijing’s information on Covid-19 raises suspicions of much deeper hostility with far-reaching consequences. Several members of the European Union are already implementing policies to reduce their dependence on China and maintain control over potentially predatory investments, a risk that represents a risk for trade between China and the EU, estimated at almost $ 750 billion last year. . USD
Meanwhile, just a few weeks ago, the events seemed to be moving in a different direction; Emerging from the blackest phase of the outbreak, China has begun offering online seminars on best practices in fighting the virus wherever it originated. In addition, China has sent medical supplies, including safety equipment, test kits and lung ventilators, to Europe and the rest of the world most affected by the outbreak, demonstrating its generous distribution of aid, in contrast to US international forces.
The pandemic provided an opportunity to achieve mutual solidarity. But it didn’t last long.
“The atmosphere in Europe is now quite toxic when it comes to China,” said Joerg Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.
“One lane, one way”
Concerns about China’s actions during the pandemic and after the crisis subsided at a meeting of G-7 foreign ministers on March 25. The ministers were warned that Europe and the G7 should be vigilant, as Beijing is likely to deal “with greater confidence and vigor” while demonstrating its influence while other countries are still in quarantine, a European official familiar with the meeting said.
In public space, Chinese officials gather in a peaceful tone. “When people’s lives are in danger, nothing is more important than saving lives. There is no point in arguing about the advantages of different social systems or models,” said Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at a conference press release on April 17. According to the spokesman, China is ready to work with the international community, including European countries, to “work together to protect the health and safety of all humanity.”
However, China’s efforts to achieve these goals have turned against themselves in much of Europe. An anonymous post, published in April on the website of the Chinese embassy in France, accuses staff at a French nursing home for allegedly letting older people die. It was “an incredible accusation of one of the most sensitive and tragic aspects of the crisis” in France, wrote Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Institut Montaigne, on Twitter.
The comments, which appeared on the embassy’s website, rang the bells of danger over completely unfounded allegations. According to two European officials working in China, China underestimated the reaction to its conspiracy theories, which the country’s propaganda machine has further condensed. Furthermore, China’s insistence that the support provided must be accompanied by public gratitude and applause has tarnished its reputation, which otherwise would likely have increased, authorities said.
European governments have been much more cautious about China in the past two years as Xi Jinping has expanded its Eurasia-focused “One Lane, One Road” trade and infrastructure initiative from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea. While some European countries, such as Italy and Portugal, are excited about the One Lane initiative, One Way, another program, known as Made in China: 2025, aims to make Beijing a key global leader. Technology is seen by many as another threat to European industry.
As a result of the coronavirus crisis, with falling stock prices, countries with investment selection regulations, including Germany, have tightened and expanded such rules in response to concerns that China, like some others, may take control of suddenly vulnerable companies. EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in an interview with The Financial Times (FT), suggested that governments continue to buy shares in the companies themselves to counter the threat of Chinese acquisitions.
However, proposals to limit dependence on China, not only for medical supplies, but also in areas such as electric car battery technology, go much further. EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has hinted at the need to discuss “what it means to be strategically autonomous”, including “creating flexible supply chains based on the principle of diversification, acknowledging the simple fact: we cannot produce everything locally ” $ 2 billion from its $ 1 trillion stimulus package to help its producers relocate production from China.
Not to mention China, EU trade ministers agreed on April 16 the importance of diversification to “reduce countries’ dependence on supplies.” Berlin, as a first step, is planning state funds and purchase guarantees to start production of more than a million industrial surgical and facial masks by the end of the summer. China currently exports 25 percent. All the masks in the world.
According to Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, the debate on supply chains started when Beijing closed its ports this year, raising concerns that pharmaceutical ingredients made in China will not reach Europe and will that policy makers realize the need to protect strategic products. .
According to another European official, even official suppliers violated contracts for the supply of goods such as lung ventilators and deceived people, gradually burning bridges. “People want to have eggs in more than one basket,” said Wuttke.
Combustion of bridges.
Of course, the direction of political debate in Europe has changed since then. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Bild that recent news that China was recalculating the number of Covid-19 victims was “worrying,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with France Télécom that “There really was, that we don’t know.” UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it would no longer be possible to “do business as usual” with China once the pandemic ends.
The Spanish Health Ministry has canceled an order for antibody tests from the Chinese company Bioeasy, since it had previously returned the previous batch, the country’s newspaper El País reported. The health authorities considered both sets to be defective, the newspaper said.
The Covid-19 crisis is increasing pressure on the UK to reverse its decision to leave Huawei a small role in the development of fifth-generation (5G) mobile infrastructure, while France is likely less inclined to trust Huawei a large part of its 5G contracts after embassy conflict
Germany is a key figure in this turbulent rhetoric, says Janka Oertel, director of the Asia Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations (Berlin). As the dominant European economy, the country’s trade relations with China overshadow similar relationships with its neighbors: German exports to China in 2019 were higher than the combined volumes of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. Starting July 1 of this year, Germany will take over the presidency of the Council of the EU and will have the opportunity to change the direction of the debate in Europe.
China can still regain its favor and hope to play a stronger global role by accepting demands to open its markets and offer a more level playing field for multinationals, “said Oertel.” Europeans would really appreciate those steps. “And at the same time, the officer added:” But in my head, that is unlikely. “
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