with about 1.5 million us dollars of trade every minute, the eu and china: win-win cooperation is the right way
2024-09-23
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
【ming di】
author: zhang jian (vice president and researcher of china institutes of contemporary international relations)
on september 11, people visited the avita booth at the international auto parts and aftermarket exhibition in frankfurt, germany. xinhua news agency
recently, an eu official revealed that the eu has postponed the vote on imposing tariffs on imported electric vehicles from china, which was originally scheduled for september 25, and has not yet determined a new voting date. at present, whether china and the eu can negotiate a mutually acceptable solution has attracted much attention.
on september 11, spanish prime minister sanchez said during his visit to china that the eu should reconsider its tariff measures against chinese electric vehicles. german government spokesman herberstreit welcomed spain's move, saying "this is our common direction of progress." all of this shows that the eu commission's tariff measures against china are facing increasing opposition. promoting cooperation through negotiations and avoiding escalation of frictions are still what people want. only win-win cooperation can truly ensure the security of the eu economy.
europe needs to wake up
economic globalization has promoted the common development of the world, formed the comparative advantages of various countries, and made all countries prosper and suffer together. as large open economies, china and the eu have benefited from economic globalization and bilateral trade. the eu is china's second largest trading partner, second largest source of imports and second largest export market, while china is the eu's second largest trading partner, first largest source of imports and third largest export market. in 2023, the trade volume between china and europe reached 783 billion us dollars, and there was about 1.5 million us dollars of trade between china and europe almost every minute. whether it is imports or exports, the chinese market and chinese products are extremely important for the economic development of europe. destroying this relationship will only harm europe's own economic interests. there are no winners in a trade war, which is a truth that everyone understands, so sanchez said: "we don't need a trade war, we need to build a bridge between the eu and china." i believe that except for blind anti-china people, most european countries will agree with spain's position.
the european commission's decision to impose high tariffs on chinese electric vehicle imports is a political decision. fundamentally speaking, it has nothing to do with subsidies or so-called fair competition. even the europeans themselves do not shy away from saying this. if the european commission really wants to fight against subsidies, it should impose countervailing tariffs on unfair measures such as the "inflation reduction act" that blatantly violates the rules of the world trade organization and blatantly discriminates in the united states. china's support measures for electric vehicles are in line with the relevant provisions of the world trade organization. the eu itself is also subsidizing them. more importantly, chinese electric vehicles have not harmed the european auto industry. no european auto companies have complained about this. on the contrary, most of them, especially the german auto industry, which has the strongest and largest auto industry, also oppose the european commission's decision.
it now seems that more europeans have a clearer and more objective understanding of china's electric vehicles, the so-called anti-subsidy tariffs of the european commission, china-eu economic and trade relations, and the consequences of the trade war. sanchez's clear expression of reservations and even opposition to the european commission's decision illustrates this problem, which has positive significance for triggering discussions within the eu on electric vehicles and even the entire china-eu relationship. sanchez's views should become the mainstream opinion of the eu.
europe needs autonomy
in recent years, some problems have emerged in china-eu relations. the eu has introduced the so-called triple positioning of china - partner, competitor and rival, but it has increasingly slid into a double or even single positioning, that is, it views china more from the perspective of economic competitor and institutional rival. the cooperative side of its relations with china has declined, while the defensive side has increased. the eu has launched an economic security strategy, restricted two-way investment, set up obstacles for china-eu economic and trade exchanges, and tried to "de-risk" china. the reasons for these changes include the eu's deviation in its perception of china, such as the mistaken belief that china's development mainly relies on subsidies and excessive dependence on china, but the most important reason is the united states. in the past few years, the united states has comprehensively strengthened its containment of china, strongly pressured its allies to choose sides, and used mechanisms such as the group of seven and nato to require european countries to stand with the united states and cooperate with the united states in comprehensively containing china's development.
under pressure from the united states, some european countries have had to ban huawei's 5g products. on july 11, the german federal ministry of the interior announced that by the end of 2026 at the latest, components from huawei and zte will no longer be used in the 5g core network, and by the end of 2029 at the latest, the key management systems of these two manufacturers must be replaced in the 5g access network and transmission network. on this issue, europe itself admits that pressure from the united states played a decisive role. some senior british officials even publicly admitted that if it were not for pressure from the united states, the united kingdom would not have been able to ban huawei, because countless british assessments have shown that huawei's 5g products do not have the so-called security issues.
under pressure from the united states, the eu continues to strengthen export controls on so-called high-tech products and technologies to china, especially in the field of integrated circuits. on september 6, the dutch government announced that it would expand the scope of export controls on lithography machines to immersion deep ultraviolet lithography equipment, while the more advanced extreme ultraviolet (euv) lithography machines had already been completely banned from export to china. it is hard to imagine that without pressure from the united states, asml, a dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, would refuse to export to china. after all, china is asml's second largest market and asml can make huge profits in china.
the united states also imposed a 100% tariff on chinese electric vehicles and asked its allies to follow suit, and canada has already complied. the eu cannot completely ignore international trade rules like the united states and canada, but its decision to impose high tariffs is still largely to cater to the united states.
the us's china policy and its demands for its allies to follow suit are undermining european interests. the ban on huawei's 5g has significantly hampered europe's high-speed broadband construction and digital economy development; export controls have greatly damaged european corporate profits and further weakened europe's competitiveness; the "de-risking" atmosphere has left european companies at a loss, increased various costs, weakened long-term investment confidence, and shaken the foundation of europe's economy, making it even less secure. at present, the eu's economic situation is very grim, with continued high energy prices, bankruptcies and exodus of manufacturing industries. it has been struggling with recession and stagnation for several years, triggering a series of social and political problems such as social polarization and the rise of the far right. if trade frictions occur between china and europe, it will certainly result in a lose-lose situation, but it may be the last straw that the european economy cannot bear. not surprisingly, the united states is happy to see this situation and even fuels it. as long as it is beneficial to suppress china, the united states will not hesitate even if it loses europe.
europe needs to be more independent, follow its own path, and independently decide its china policy instead of serving the us's china strategy. otherwise, europe will eventually become a vassal of the united states, just as the europeans themselves worry.
china and europe need cooperation
as two major forces, two major markets and two major civilizations, the strategic and global nature of china-eu relations is becoming increasingly prominent. china-eu relations can obviously be better and benefit the people of both sides more. more and more europeans realize that china and europe need to achieve win-win results through cooperation, rather than lose-lose situations due to differences and confrontation. in recent years, exchanges between china and europe at all levels and in all fields have increased significantly. president xi jinping successfully visited france, serbia and hungary this year. the prime ministers of spain and norway visited china recently. previously, leaders of italy and other countries also visited china. these visits have deepened mutual understanding and promoted mutual trust and cooperation.
china and the eu are also working hard to find a solution to the most pressing issue of electric vehicles, and the two sides have held more than ten rounds of consultations. chinese minister of commerce wang wentao held talks with eu commission executive vice president and trade commissioner valdis dombrovskis on september 19. both sides clearly expressed their political will to resolve differences through consultations, agreed to continue to promote negotiations on the price commitment agreement, and committed to reaching a solution acceptable to both sides through friendly dialogue and consultations.
the development of chinese electric vehicles, whether exported to the eu or invested in building factories in the eu, will help promote the development of the eu electric vehicle industry. protectionism will not enhance competitiveness, but will only further slow down the transformation of the european automotive industry. chinese electric vehicles will also help the eu's green development and provide more choices for european consumers.
the eu should also create a predictable, more friendly and fair economic, trade and investment environment to attract chinese investors. when visiting china, leaders of spain, italy and other countries expressed their hope that more chinese companies, including electric vehicle companies, would invest in their countries. the improvement of the atmosphere and environment will be more conducive to chinese companies making decisions to invest in europe. the eu claims to be a defender of rules, and the issue of electric vehicle tariffs is a touchstone. its proper resolution is related to china's interests, as well as the long-term development of the eu economy and its international image. there is no reason for china and the eu not to reach a solution acceptable to both sides.
at present, in addition to spain and germany, eu countries such as sweden, the czech republic, and hungary have also continued to voice their opposition to the european commission's decision to impose tariffs on electric vehicles. as sanchez called for, the european commission and eu member states should "reconsider their positions", not only on the issue of electric vehicle tariffs, but also on the overall positioning of relations with china. china's position on europe is consistent. it has always viewed china-eu relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, and has regarded europe as an important direction of china's major power diplomacy with chinese characteristics and an important partner for achieving chinese-style modernization. the eu should also view china more objectively and handle relations with china from the perspective of win-win cooperation rather than risk, competition or even confrontation. in this way, the eu's development path will be broader and the potential of china-eu relations will be further developed.
the third plenary session of the 20th cpc central committee made systematic arrangements for further deepening reform and promoting chinese-style modernization, which brought new opportunities for deepening and expanding china-eu cooperation. next year will be the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and the eu. china and the eu should continue to move forward steadily in the direction of independence, mutual achievement and benefiting the world. the future of china-eu relations should and can be better.
guangming daily (12th edition, september 23, 2024)
source: guangming daily
