The bar was set low during the first official visit of a Belgian prime minister to China in eight years. The objectives were achieved and Prime Minister De Croo was actually able to raise some difficult points. The question remains whether it will make much difference. ‘Everything can be done here, except megaphone diplomacy.’
A meeting with Chinese leaders, an agreement on pork and a possible Chinese investigation into the Creyelman case: the China visit by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) and Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (MR) appears to have been a success. The duo was able to open doors for Belgian companies, and at the same time managed to express criticism – albeit cautiously.
Alexander De Croo’s two-day visit was announced as an economic mission, with 26 companies in his entourage. It was the first time since 2016 that a Belgian Prime Minister paid an official visit to China and the bar was low after eight years without contact: restoring communication, giving companies a boost and securing one agreement. For comparison: in 2016 Charles Michel signed twenty more agreements.
The biggest result of the visit: an agreement on the export of Belgian pork to China. It was shut down after an outbreak of African swine fever six years ago. China is a lucrative market for the Belgian pig sector, with 1.4 billion consumers who view pig feet and ears as a delicacy. In the rest of the world they are used in dog and cat food. In 2018, 3,474 tons of pork were exported to China.
In most countries, food safety is a technical issue, but in a country like China, high-ranking visitors can help get such things moving. “I am very happy that the Prime Minister is here,” said Jos Claeys, CEO of meat producer Westvlees. “The Chinese are a very proud people. We have good contacts with our customers, and they told us: listen, we sense that Belgium does not respect us that much. The Prime Minister’s visit changes that.”
Frank conversation
However, De Croo also had some tough nuts to crack in China. He had announced in advance that he would discuss the Creyelman case, in which a former Vlaams Belang senator was bribed by a Chinese spy. He would also address human rights in China and the trade imbalance between China and Europe. Chinese companies have more access to Europe than the other way around, meaning that China exports five times more (32.6 billion euros) to Belgium than the other way around.
De Croo said he had ‘a very frank conversation’ with both Prime Minister Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping, including about human rights, Taiwan and foreign interference. According to De Croo, the Chinese government denied any link between the Creyelman case and the Chinese authorities, despite the evidence presented. Yet those authorities are said to have responded favorably to his request for an investigation: “They indicated that they were going to take a look with us.”
De Croo and Lahbib said they spoke freely behind the scenes, but in public they spoke very cautiously. In an authoritarian country like China, where the government is very sensitive to open criticism, foreign politicians have to walk on eggshells. In his opening statement for the conversation with Li Qiang, De Croo subtly requested “respect for each other’s political systems, without interference.” “He must have understood that sentence very well,” De Croo said afterwards.
The sensitivity was also evident in a roundtable discussion between Lahbib and representatives of civil society. It was moved at the last minute from a restaurant to the Belgian embassy. “It is important to do this with discretion,” Lahbib said. “The secret of efficient diplomacy here is that one can do everything except megaphone diplomacy. You have to do that with confidence, and at the same time with the openness that characterizes us.”
Trade imbalance
The question is whether all the criticism will make a difference. European politicians have been voicing complaints about China’s trade imbalance for years, without much result. “What I find interesting is that there was no denial,” says De Croo. “That was different in the past. Today people recognize that there is a problem. The situation is also different. Growth is no longer 7 or 8 percent in China. People realize that this imbalance is not a good thing for them either.”
Companies in the delegation also have mixed feelings about China: it is a market that you cannot miss, but also a difficult market. “We see patents appearing from Chinese competitors, entire passages of which come from our patents,” said Wim Soetaert, director of a biotech company in the delegation. After five years of procedures, he recently received permission to sell his product in China. Now he is looking for Chinese partners. “How is that possible? That is possible in China.”
The Belgian ministers were pampered in China, with a visit to the Forbidden City and a state dinner in the Great Hall of the People. A Chinese orchestra played songs by Arno, Clouseau and Noordkaap. President Xi referred to his visit to Bruges ten years ago and said he wanted to “build bridges, not walls”.
The visit took place under strict security measures. The delegation members were advised by Belgian state security to leave telephones and laptops at home, and to ‘burner phone‘ to use. It was also not recommended to use Chinese Wi-Fi networks. China is known for its eavesdropping and hacking practices.
