/ world today news/ Evgeniy Kandilarov is a doctor of modern history and associate professor of social studies of East Asian countries at SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”, where he teaches “International relations in East and South Asia”, as well as disciplines related to the relations between Bulgaria and the countries of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea).
A special emphasis in his research is on the issues of international relations between Europe and East Asia, including between Europe and China, as well as between Bulgaria and China.
The reason for the interview with KMG is both the 45th anniversary of the reforms and the opening of China to the world, as well as the jubilee anniversary of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative and Bulgaria’s place in relations with the PRC. At the beginning of the conversation, the Bulgarian scientist also dwells on China-EU relations, in the context of the recent China-EU summit held in Beijing and its significance in global terms.
V. Associate Professor Kandilarov, at the beginning of December, the 24th China-EU summit was held in Beijing. The President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the EC Ursula von der Leyen arrived in the Chinese capital, they talked with the Chinese President Xi Jinping and other heads of state. Please tell us your point of view and opinion about this meeting?
A. From what we have available in the way of information and news after the meeting, which is not that much, I can say that all things considered, this meeting had a positive outcome. It is a very good sign for European-Chinese relations. And this is for several reasons – firstly, such a meeting has not happened “live” for four years in such a format since the pandemic began. Although, some European leaders have visited China this year, on other occasions. Thus, the dialogue in the EU-China format was gradually restored, and, in my opinion, the conduct of this meeting was quite positive. Second, what we see as feedback from both sides is a desire to restore dialogue, a desire to find solutions to issues that are essential to both sides. In fact, as it has always been until now, what drives EU-China relations are economic interests, economic relations, as both countries are important trading partners. And in fact, during the current meeting, this is exactly what was expressed as a wish by the EU as well. On the other hand – from China came the desire and proposal to have no restrictions on free markets, to have no political influence and influence – what we have been observing for at least the last 6-7 years, in the context of growing geopolitical tension on a global scale. And here I would like to emphasize that one of the most important things is actually how far the European Union will be able to protect its interests and those of the individual member states in relations with China, because these relations are extremely important. Of course, this is not clear-cut for every EU member state, but in general, the EU claims that China is its largest trading partner, and ultimately it can be said that it is vital for them to have a good economic relationship with the Celestial.
All this is a good sign for the future of EU-China relations, although of course we should not be “super-optimistic”, because we cannot ignore the tensions that have been building up in recent years, which are very much a function of global tensions between China and the US. This is exactly the global framework – the confrontation between China and the CIS and at the same time the impact on the EU by the US. And especially at the regional level – when we talk about Eastern Europe. This is extremely clear to everyone, in different ways – both in the socio-political space and from the point of view of strengthening “anti-Chinese” publications, which are related to the imposition of a certain negative image of China, seen as a threat and as rival. The emphasis not only on various media publications, but also in statements, as well as positions expressed in European documents and forums – in all this the sharper tone towards China is clearly visible.
And again, we must emphasize that this is “sort of” a function of the positions and overlays being made overseas. Even if we compare the rhetoric seen in the speeches of both the President of the United States in recent years and especially his predecessor Trump, and everything stated in the national security strategies points to this fact.
The good thing in this case, however, is that Europe is much more moderate and cautious and does not go so much to extremes in relation to China. The other thing that is good is the fact that we still see a softer position being expressed by the President of the EC, as well as by the President of the European Council, by presidents of working countries such as France and others. So, the European position towards China, although highly dependent on the US, has the opportunity to find its own path and its own approach. If this happens, it would be best for Europe itself, and not for it to be a part and function of US-China relations, which have a completely different logic. After all, Europe has its own interests, even at the global level.
C. In December of this year marks the 45th anniversary of China’s reform and policy of opening up to the world and its new development. At the same time, this year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Please comment on the reforms over the past years and their significance for China and the world?
A. From the point of view of China’s opening, which is also related to the reforms that began in the late 1970s, there is no serious analyst who does not take into account the progress that China has made in all these years and the huge leap, transforming China from a not very well developed and not very well industrialized country where there was extreme poverty to an undisputed global leader today. And what makes it so are the characteristics that are expressed not only in the growth of GDP, but at the same time in raising the standard of living and lifting huge masses of people out of poverty. And this needs to be emphasized because many people do not really have a clear idea of what exactly it is about, what a huge development we are talking about – a development that affects a huge mass of people living in China.
From the point of view of China’s progress, in any case, this progress is a process of purposeful, consistent, extremely reasonable policy, which is carried out by the leadership of the country. Here, however, we must not forget that technological progress was made possible thanks to the fact that the relationship between China and Western countries, in the form of the USA and Western Europe, was in a rather favorable “symbiosis” for a long time. It is not by chance that after the opening of China, people began to talk about the so-called the “chimerica” phenomenon, that is, the favorable trade-economic relations between China and the USA. China – producing, and the USA – consuming. This has enabled China to make very good and rapid progress. Unfortunately, this positive stage in China-US relations, especially after the beginning of the new millennium, when they began to “erode”, it led to tensions on a global level, which we still see today.
But what China started 10 years ago and which is very important and whose anniversary we are celebrating this year is the Belt and Road initiative, as well as the 20th anniversary of China-Europe relations, during which both sides emphasize the strategic nature of its relations. Still, China is one of the strategic partners of the EU, at least this is how it is declared by all Asian countries, because the EU has four strategic partnerships – Japan, Korea, India and China. So, from the world’s point of view, it is very important to understand the essence of the Belt and Road Initiative, because it is not a short-term economic initiative, but rather it is China’s attempt to offer – as formulated in the documents – “New model of the global world”, a model that could change not only the commercial and economic relations between the East and the West, between Europe and Asia, because in fact the “backbone” of the “Belt and Road” is the construction of the Eurasian space . This is an opportunity to transform the governance of the world with the participation of many poles of power in international relations – multilateralism is very important in the multipolar model, it can also guarantee the regional development of individual poles. At the same time, the EU – because in this case, I consider the European Union as a separate entity in international relations, although it does not always manage to play this role, but it seems to me that the EU is increasingly aware of the need to have its own “weight”, its own importance as a separate pole in this multipolar world. This is extremely important to me.
Q. In this connection, let’s also talk about Bulgaria, where do you see it, the place, the relations with China, the prospects?
A. The Bulgarian attitude towards China is within the framework of European policy, within the framework of EU-China relations. And it cannot be otherwise. But at the same time, here we must be able to take advantage of the strategic positives that our country has – from the point of view of both geography and the opportunities for relations with other countries in the region – so that we can have a more significant role in the entire dialogue between China and the EU. We have more special traditions, like every country. Those countries that were part of the “Soviet bloc”, from the Eastern bloc, which, although during the “cold war” some of them had cooler relations with China, in the context of the Sino-Soviet contradictions, after the opening of China, this part of Europe has built a very active and well-structured relationship both economically and culturally.
Unfortunately, I must note here that Bulgaria does not yet have a very clear strategy, a clear concept of what its relations with China should be. Declarative positions are often expressed, which are very positive, seeing China as an important trade partner, a country that is important and of strategic importance. But apart from these declarative positions, which were most strongly expressed in 2019, when we celebrated the anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations, from then on we do not see anything new as a development. Bulgaria remains passive in these relations, which is not the best approach. I have a feeling that we are waiting to see how things will develop, how Brussels will react, and then we can possibly say what we think about certain issues. Other countries in our region, of course – we cannot compare our relations with China with countries that are outside the EU, but there are member states that have a much clearer, much more emancipated policy like Hungary, Greece and others and manage to find the intersection between their national interests and China’s positions in the region.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that the best we could hope for is not to allow a deterioration of the overall socio-political environment and attitude to affect our relations with China in any way, because that – in my view – is dangerous from the point of view of point of imposing some ideas, which are often very ideological. For example, that China is some kind of cruel danger that is stalking us… and the like. These things should by no means come to the fore, because China is open enough that anyone who is interested in China, anyone who explores this great country, should get to know exactly what China is, its positions and politics, both internally and externally. Indeed, many things have been translated from Chinese in recent years in our country, there are also many publications, so such an opportunity exists. China strives to show the world that it is not a threat, but at the same time it has its rightful place, which should not be neglected in any case! An important element is also that China, in its foreign policy activity, does not impose ideological restrictions on the countries with which it works and cooperates, as there are many other countries that impose such restrictions. China’s position is related to the fact that “…we would not like to interfere in your values, in your state-political or economic systems in general, and accordingly – you do not need to try to interfere in ours .”
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