EU doesn’t want ‘escalation’ with China

The European Union does not want “escalation” with China, after the mutual sanctions taken against the Chinese minority of Uyghurs, assured Friday the ambassador of the EU in China.

Last March, Europeans sanctioned Chinese officials accused of repressing Muslims in Xinjiang (Northwest). Beijing responded by sanctioning European personalities including members of Parliament in Strasbourg.

This controversy seems to jeopardize the ratification of the Sino-European investment agreement concluded at the end of 2020, but Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis wanted to be optimistic during a press conference.

“We are not looking for escalation, but nothing will prevent the EU from saying what it wants, wherever it is in the world,” he said.

Despite the tensions, high-level contacts continue between China and EU member states and Beijing “seems to want to continue the dialogue”, noted the ambassador.

Regarding the investment agreement, he admitted that Chinese sanctions against MEPs did not help ratification. But he said work was continuing with China’s Commerce Ministry on drafting the final text of the treaty, which could be submitted to parliament later this year or early next year.

The president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, Jeorg Wuttke, a strong supporter of the investment agreement, was less optimistic on Friday, however. The agreement “will not materialize for a long time,” he admitted at another press conference. By targeting MEPs, the Communist regime has, according to him, dealt a “disproportionate” blow to the text.

“It is clear that the European Parliament will do nothing to take up this agreement on investment as long as the (Chinese) sanctions are not lifted,” he said.

Wuttke expressed concern after the controversy in March that targeted companies like Sweden’s H&M, boycotted in China for pledging not to buy cotton from Xinjiang where Uyghurs are subjected to forced labor, according to human rights organizations.

European companies are caught “between a rock and a hard place” and it is “difficult for them to maneuver in this situation”, he lamented.

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The European Union does not want “escalation” with China, after the mutual sanctions taken on the Chinese minority of Uyghurs, assured Friday the ambassador of the EU in China. Last March, the Europeans have sanctioned Chinese officials accused of repressing Muslims in Xinjiang (Northwest). Beijing responded by sanctioning personalities …