DrThe Chinese retaliation has created a “new atmosphere” and, in fact, a “new situation.” So said the representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, Monday evening, after the meeting of the foreign ministers. During the meeting, they learned of the retaliation against Beijing – against the European Parliament, but also against the Council’s Political and Security Committee, in which the ambassadors represent all member states. Borrell described these measures as “unacceptable.” He will report to the European Council on how relations have developed with China since 2019. The Spaniard said that heads of state and government will definitely take recent events into account.
Thomas Gotschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries, based in Brussels.
Personally, they will not meet on Thursday as originally scheduled. Many heads of government did not want to board the plane due to the third wave of the epidemic. Of course, this allows another guest to participate virtually: US President Joe Biden will join in the evening. It is a good thing that Biden Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has just visited Brussels. After the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Council meeting, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Borrell met on Wednesday evening. All these hadiths were also about China. The government in Washington views the relationship with Beijing as a central geopolitical challenge for the next few years; It wants to form a federation of democracies.
No “we or you”
Blinken made his first contribution in Brussels – a speech on the renewal of the transatlantic partnership, which he delivered at NATO headquarters. In it, he ranked China and Russia as the “most pressing threats” to Western democracies. He named China first and referred to the militarization of the South China Sea, as the country was threatening freedom of navigation.
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“Beijing’s military ambitions are increasing every year,” Blinken said. He warned that Moscow and Beijing were trying to “drive a wedge between us.” Economic intimidation, such as the one practiced by China against Australia, should not be separated from other forms of pressure. “If any of us are coerced, we must respond as allies.”
He cited the European Union’s sanctions against China, which were “reversed” by the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, as a model. China’s retaliation makes it crucial to “stand firm and stand together.” Otherwise, you are sending the wrong message that intimidation works. At the same time, Blinken grappled with European fears that America would push them into a new confrontation with Beijing. He said, “The United States will not give its allies in China the choice of” us or them. “Although the country threatens common security and undermines the international system, countries can continue to work with China on climate and health issues. The allies are known to have” complex relationships. ” With Beijing.
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