The EU's Elusive Strategic Autonomy
The EU seeks trade with China and ASEAN and peace with Russia, but the US holds a NATO knife to Europe's economy and seeks to torpedo China's Ship of State
UPDATE: Your intrepid editor has taken the first steps toward full recovery from a nasty bout of pneumonia and is back at the editors desk today.
This special edition of the Long Mekong Daily looks first at the important meeting between President Xi Jinping and the EU Council President Charles Michel. During the meeting, which lasted three hours, Xi appraised Michel of China’s outlook on EU-China relations urging the European Union to adopt an objective and correct approach toward China, properly handle differences between them, promote high-level cooperation in various fields, and work together on global challenges to promote world peace and development. Charles Michel’s remarks about the meeting convey a different message and is also included below. Third, is a critique of former US national security advisor to Donald Trump, Matt Pottinger’s article in Foreign Affairs, which, to be fair, is a twisted narrative for continued US global hegemony, “because Xi Jinping asked for it”. Lastly, an article on the EU’s plight of navigating peace with Russia and trade with China while the US holds a NATO bayonet at its rear and a winter of discontent lies in its path forward.
President Xi Jinping meets EU Council President Charles Michel
On the morning of 1 December, President Xi Jinping held talks with President of the European Council Charles Michel at the Great Hall of the People.
President Xi noted that President Michel’s visit to China on behalf of the Member States of the European Union (EU) shortly after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) represents the EU’s goodwill of furthering relations with China. China and the EU are two major forces upholding world peace, two big markets promoting shared development, and two great civilizations promoting human progress. Maintaining an onward and upward momentum in the China-EU relationship and keeping it mutually beneficial serves the interests of both sides and those of the international community. The more unstable the international situation becomes and the more acute challenges the world faces, the greater global significance China-EU relations take on.
President Xi said that Comrade Jiang Zemin died of illness in Shanghai yesterday. When he was China’s leader, Comrade Jiang attached great importance and showed commitment to the growth of China-EU relations. He paid multiple visits to European countries, maintained close interactions with leaders of the EU and European countries, worked for the establishment of the China-EU Summit mechanism, and promoted dialogue and cooperation between the two sides across the board. China will carry forward his legacy and continue to consolidate and grow China-EU relations. China will continue to approach and develop its ties with the EU from a strategic, long-term perspective, and will work with the EU to strengthen strategic communication and coordination and promote the steady and sustained growth of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.
President Xi expounded on the important outcomes of the 20th CPC National Congress and the five features of Chinese modernization. He stressed that with changes of the world, of the times and of history unfolding at a faster pace, countries are all thinking about the way forward. The 20th CPC National Congress has given China’s answer, that is: Internally, China will stay committed to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, to a people-centered philosophy of development, and to deepening reform and opening up; externally, China will firmly pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, uphold its foreign policy goals of safeguarding world peace and promoting common development, and stay committed to promoting a community with a shared future for mankind. China’s development represents a growing force for world peace, and China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism. This is a solemn political pledge made by the CPC. It reflects the will of the over 1.4 billion Chinese people. With stability of institutions, governance, policy and development, China has the confidence and ability to provide much needed certainty and stability to the international community. Chinese modernization and European integration are the choices that China and Europe have made in light of their vision of the future. There should be mutual understanding and support between the two sides. China looks forward to seeing the EU become an important partner in China’s pursuit of Chinese modernization and share in the opportunities brought by China’s huge market and China’s efforts to advance institutional opening up and deepen international cooperation.
President Xi made the following four observations on the development of China-EU relations.
First, it is important to keep the right perception. There are no strategic differences or conflicts of fundamental significance between China and the EU. China does not seek dominance or hegemony. China has never and will never export its system. China supports the EU’s strategic autonomy and supports a united and prosperous Europe. It is hoped that the EU institutions and Member States will gain an objective and right perception of China, firmly pursue peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit in their China policies, rise above the Cold War mentality and ideological antagonism, transcend confrontation of systems, and reject a new Cold War of whatever forms.
Second, it is important to properly manage differences. China and Europe differ in history, culture, development level and ideology. It is only natural that the two sides have different views on some issues. They should maintain communication and coordination in a constructive way. It is essential to respect each other’s major concerns and core interests, especially sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs, in order to jointly preserve the political foundation of China-EU relations. China stands ready for the China-EU Human Rights Dialogue conducted on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
Third, it is important to carry out cooperation at a higher level. Europe is an important partner and beneficiary of China’s rapid development. China will continue to pursue high-level opening up and move faster in fostering a new development paradigm. China welcomes the EU’s continued participation for win-win results. The two sides need to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, seek greater complementarity in market, capital and technology, and work together to nurture new growth drivers in digital economy, green development and environment protection, new energies, and artificial intelligence. Joint efforts are also needed to keep industrial and supply chains secure, stable and reliable, to reject practices of decoupling, severing supply chains, and protectionism, and to oppose attempts to politicize and weaponize exchanges in economy, trade, science and technology. While China will stay open to European businesses, it would like to call on the EU to stay free from disturbances and provide Chinese companies with a fair and transparent business environment.
Fourth, it is important to strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs. China and the EU, both advocates of upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core, can work together to follow true multilateralism, rise to challenges, and safeguard global peace and development. The two sides need to steer the global response to climate change and efforts for biodiversity protection, energy and food security and public health, among others, and strengthen synergy and coordination of each other’s quality public goods and cooperation platforms. China welcomes the EU’s participation in Belt and Road cooperation and the Global Development Initiative for greater synergy with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy. Efforts should be made through existing mechanisms to push for more fruitful outcomes in dialogue and cooperation in various fields.
President Michel congratulated President Xi on his reelection as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and expressed on behalf of the EU deep condolences over Comrade Jiang Zemin’s passing due to illness. He noted that the international landscape and geopolitics are undergoing profound and complex changes, and the international community faces many challenges and crises. China does not pursue expansion. It is an important partner for upholding the purposes of the UN Charter and supporting multilateralism. The EU values the opportunity to have a face-to-face meeting at the highest level with China shortly after the 20th CPC National Congress. The EU stands ready for an in-depth discussion with China on important issues concerning various respects of EU-China relations in the spirit of mutual respect and candor, in a bid to increase mutual understanding, promote dialogue and cooperation, and manage differences properly. The EU pursues strategic autonomy and stays committed to building its own capacity and pressing ahead with European integration. The EU upholds the one-China policy and respects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It will not interfere in China’s internal affairs. The EU is ready to become a reliable and predictable cooperation partner for China. It will work with China to ensure the success of upcoming high-level exchanges, reduce misunderstanding and miscalculation through more direct dialogue and cooperation, and strengthen communication and coordination to better respond to energy crisis, climate change, public health and other global challenges. The EU will work with China to take forward the process toward an EU-China investment agreement, make supply chains more stable, strengthen mutual trust, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas.
The two sides exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. President Xi expounded on China’s principled position and quoted an ancient Chinese saying, “When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat would suffer.” A political settlement of the crisis best serves Europe’s interests and the common interests of all countries in Eurasia. Under the current circumstances, it is important to prevent an escalation or expansion of the crisis, stay committed to promoting talks for peace, manage the spillovers of the crisis, and watch out for any risk of bloc confrontation. China supports the EU in stepping up mediation efforts and playing a leading role in building a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe. China will remain on the side of peace and continue to play a constructive role in its own way.
Wang Yi and He Lifeng were present at the talks.
Full readout from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Remarks by President Charles Michel following the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Good afternoon,
First of all I would like to thank President Xi for hosting us in China today. And I would like to present to the people of China my sincere condolences for the death of your former President Jiang Zemin.
The EU promotes its interests and its values in the world. I have come to Beijing to engage in a candid, in-depth, and face-to-face dialogue with China’s leadership. Today’s meeting with President Xi Jinping took some three hours. I also met with Prime minister Li Keqiang and the chairman of the National People’s Congress, Li Zhanshu. It’s our first in-person meeting since I took office, due to COVID. My last visit to China was as Belgian Prime Minister in November 2016.
A few weeks ago, I put a discussion on the EU-China relationship on the agenda of the European Council. The 27 leaders agreed on the critical importance of the EU-China relationship. We discussed how to best manage it in Europe’s interest but also in the global interest.
Today, we know that the world faces multiple crises. The war in Ukraine, the energy and food crises, and the slow-down of the global economy. On top of climate change and global health. These global issues require dialogue and action. We need to discuss where we can work better together, but also to discuss and manage our differences. I believe in the power of dialogue.
Both the EU and China have an interest in a rules-based world with the UN Charter at its core.
We had the occasion to discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine. China is a global player and a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. We all share the responsibility to work for peace and for the respect of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter. I urged President Xi — as we did at our EU-China Summit in April — to use his influence on Russia to respect the UN charter.
The Kremlin’s attack on a sovereign nation blatantly violates international law. President Xi and I agreed that nuclear threats are not acceptable and highly dangerous, and endanger the international community.
I also raised the issue of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rights of minorities.
Human rights are universal. I welcome the readiness to resume the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue. We will follow up on this commitment. This format has not convened for more than three years. So, this is an important signal. The Dialogue will allow us to focus on wider human rights policy issues and on individual cases. The right of peaceful assembly is a fundamental right enshrined both in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in national constitutions.
I also raised the situation of minorities. We discussed for instance at length the situation in Xinjiang. This is not about interfering with internal affairs. It’s about upholding the principles agreed by the UN for decades and this also applies to Hong Kong. It’s essential that we continue to talk.
We also discussed issues related to the wider Asian region. The EU will have a summit with the ASEAN countries in two weeks. We are deeply connected with our ASEAN partners. We are committed to a peaceful Indo-Pacific and Southeast China Sea. We recall the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region. We need to maintain freedom of navigation and overflight in the region and beyond.
We also discussed Taiwan. The EU is committed to and maintains its One China Policy. I repeated the longstanding position of the EU on Taiwan and the Taiwan strait.
The EU has a strong interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait: 40% of our trade passes through it. It is important to promote stability and prosperity in East Asia. We also discussed the situation in the DPRK and Myanmar.
We also had the occasion to address both bilateral and global economic issues, a key topic of my visit here today in China. European leaders insisted on this point.
China is our top trading partner in goods amounting to almost EUR 2 billion every day and China accounts for over 22% of European imports. China’s growth in recent decades has benefited both China and the EU and has contributed substantially to China’s dramatic economic transformation.
But I also set out the difficulties faced by EU companies and investors. On the European side, market access remains very open, while in China several sectors remain much more closed. We need greater reciprocity, we need a more balanced relationship with no overdependencies, a real level-playing field for our companies. We need to strike the right balance. A shift into ‘self-reliance’ carries dangers not only for China and the EU but also for the world.
We believe in free trade, in cooperation; but we need balance and fairness. So, we need to work more on the issues hampering our broad trade relationship and there are channels for that. We believe that trade and investment must be governed by rules, by a reformed World Trade Organization.
Full readout from the European Council
Pottinger’s Propaganda is Biden’s Foreign Policy (Part I)
In a recent article published in Foreign Affairs magazine, former US National Security advisor Mathew Pottinger characterised China’s President Xi Jinping as the ghost of Mao Zedong supported by a politburo of ideologues bent on centralising China’s political, military and economic power, crushing all political, intellectual, technocratic and social dissent and ending forty years of reform and opening up in order to impose a new totalitarian world order that banishes the United States to global irrelevance. Taking a quote from ‘History of the Peloponnesian War’ by Thucydides helps the reader understand Pottinger’s thirst for conflict: “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this inspired in Sparta that made war inevitable.”
Pottinger, of course, neglects the fact that all states, including the United States, centralise political, military and economic power and that Pottinger served as national security advisor to a US president that attempted a coup d’état in January 2021. Pottinger’s twisted tale of China’s global ambitions is based on pernicious opinions of the personal ambitions and actions of President Xi Jinping and misleading readings of China’s government and Communist Party of China (CPC) documents. However, his analysis merely disguises a fraught and fearful justification for continuation of the desperately dangerous and globally destabilising economic and foreign policies of past and present US administrations.
Pottinger’s thesis not only condones the overtly destructive nature of US foreign policy, but sets about excusing and justifying the Biden administrations relay of Trump and previous administrations excesses by targeting China, President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Pottinger argues that China’s recently concluded 20th Party Congress “served to codify” Xi Jinping’s worldview, which has been developed over the past decade and “carefully crafted in official party communications - Chinese-language speeches, documentaries, and textbooks – as “deliberately mistranslate[d] for foreign audiences” to create “ambiguity that camouflages the regime’s aims and methods” and “offer a window into Xi’s ideology and motivations.” Despite the fact that few or no US official speeches, documentaries or textbooks are translated into Chinese, or any other language except occasional Spanish, Pottinger’s accusation that CPC and government translations are “deliberately misleading” is overtly pernicious. The centuries-long litany of US planned and executed political subversions, military interventions, economic sanctions and trade protectionism are well documented. Pottinger’s former boss, Donald Trump was famously accused of being sympathetic to Russia and President Putin. And, since 1972, the United States has been committed to the “One China Policy” that explicitly acknowledges Taiwan as a province of China.
According to Pottinger, China’s President Xi is motivated by a “deep fear of subversion, hostility toward the United States, sympathy with Russia, a desire to unify mainland China and Taiwan,” and, above all, ideological confidence in “the ultimate victory of communism over the capitalist West.” However, Pottinger’s assertion that Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, which includes the Leninist notion of democratic centralism, will inevitably cause the disintegration of China’s political and social unity much like the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) at the denouement of the Cold War, is an overt statement of belligerent US intent. Thus, Pottinger promotes US “constrainment” of China via concerted economic and technological sanctions, military provocations, ever increasing arms accumulation and development, large-scale political socialisation and propaganda campaigns, political subversions, and the planning, funding and direction of proxy wars in third-party states.
The Ukraine, cradle of the “Russe” and Russian civilisation, remains the poorest of European countries. However, since the US backed coup d’état of 2014 and the decision to join NATO sparked Russia’s special military operations in 2022, the country is 40% poorer, has 6 million emigres and a collapsed infrastructure. Woe to those that support US colour revolutions.
“When the hurly-burly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won,” call 3 witches in scene 1 of ‘Macbeth.’ then all 3 call: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.”
Washington’s grand strategy is to complete the political and economic subjugation of the only two civilisations that have eluded Anglo-American and European domination since the industrial revolution. The US-led launch of a “New Cold War,” that envisages a global NATO, including the QUAD Dialogue (Australia, India, Japan, United States) and AUKUS Alliance (Australia, United Kingdom, United States), is nought but the pursuit of an end state that requires the remaking of global governance with the explicit objective of enforcing the so-called “rules based order” on the two countries with sufficiently vast territorial and population size to have historically deterred complete subjugation by the former imperial and colonial powers and their colonies that now constitute the US-led legacy-liberal state global alliance.
To be continued… The editor
Recently, POLITICO Europe published an opinion piece entitled "Olaf Scholz's message to Europe: Germany First." The article claimed that "whether the issue concerns arms deliveries to Ukraine or how to cushion the impact of surging natural gas prices, Scholz's approach has been clear: Germany First." What form will "Germany First" take? And under America First, how will the transatlantic partnership evolve if allies are gradually drifting apart and prioritizing themselves.
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Europe's security and political order has entered a period of adjustment and reshaping. The impact of the conflict is moving beyond the battlefield and into areas such as economy and energy. With the prolongation and complications of the conflict, Europe's emotional response is gradually returning to rationality, shifting from a stress reaction to future-oriented strategic thinking. In this process, at least four questions will affect the effectiveness of Europe's strategic autonomy and the future of transatlantic relations.
First, do Russia and Europe have an either-or relationship or a symbiotic relationship? Second, is the transatlantic relationship a booster or a stumbling block for European strategic autonomy? Third, is it a normalcy or a policy deviation that Central and Eastern European countries try to tie up Europeanism through Atlanticism? Fourth, are European elites seeking happiness and prosperity for the European people or engaging in ideological and geopolitical confrontation?
Using the Russia-Ukraine conflict and even rivalry between great powers, the US has tightened its ties with European allies. Behind this is the US stubbornly adhering to bloc confrontation and Cold War mentality and enforcing its global hegemony through NATO and other bloc-based political platforms. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US has only been fanning the flames, rather than acting as a major power to promote peace and dialogue. On the front of major power rivalry, the US has adopted a new National Security Strategy to intensify rivalry and zero-sum game, stating that "we will prioritize maintaining an enduring competitive edge over China while constraining a still profoundly dangerous Russia."
In this sense, the US is trying to turn the international community into a "hierarchical society" centered on itself and maintain an international system in which US hegemony reigns supreme. However, Europe's global blueprint is an international system based on regional cooperation, rule-based governance, and is characterized by external flattening and internal diversification. As a result, the contradiction between the US' control of NATO and the need for European security autonomy is increasingly intensifying.
In this process, Germany's role as the de facto leader of the EU has become increasingly prominent, and the country is strengthening its cooperation with pro-EU forces to advance European strategic autonomy. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Germany not only increased its military spending to more than 2 percent of its GDP, but also approved a special defense fund of 100 billion euros ($98.4 billion). Berlin is paying more attention to its role in the adjustment of Europe's order. On October 5, Scholz visited Spain and attended the Spanish-German Summit, saying during an interview with El País that Germany, as a major power at the center of Europe, will take its "special responsibility" very seriously.
Meanwhile, the Franco-German axis plays an increasingly important role, especially under growing calls for strategic autonomy. On September 1, when addressing the Conference of Ambassadors, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France has always maintained independent diplomacy and that France and Europe must work together to ensure their geopolitical independence.
On October 6, the first European Political Community Summit took place in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, which holds the current presidency of the EU Council. This is seen as the result of a long-term reflection of European elites on the continent's future. It aims to find new space for political cooperation among European countries based on shared core values and geopolitical principles.
But Germany also faces many restrictions. Germany's three-party governing coalition is still going through a period of adapting to each other. The three parties diverge in their responses to soaring energy prices, inflation, and foreign strategies.
Meanwhile, some of Germany's policies have been questioned by other EU member states. For example, Berlin has agreed on a relief package worth 200 billion euros to deal with high energy prices. But in the eyes of other EU countries, this is a move that undermines the European single market and competition rules.
In addition, Atlanticism has increased its influence over Germany, attempting to tear Germany and Europe apart and keep them as subordinate partners in the US' hegemonic system. More importantly, Russia is a close neighbor of the EU, and the future of the European security order cannot be separated from the presence of Russia. Nevertheless, some German elites are pondering over the status of Europe in the post-US era, hoping to bring Europe together and preserve its unity and the ambition of European integration.
Read the full article here.