China EU relations

 
Editor's Note:

Chinese President Xi Jinping will later this week embark on a visit to three European countries - France, Serbia and Hungary. What impact will this visit have on China-Europe relations? As France is his first stop-over, what to expect from his visit? Global Times (GT) reporters Zhao Juecheng and Wang Wenwen talked to Sébastien Périmony (Périmony), an expert from the Schiller Institute in France, over these issues.

GT: China-EU relations are undergoing challenges, both geopolitically and economically. Under such circumstances, what positive impact do you expect Xi's visit to have on China-EU relations?

Périmony: In today's world re-divided into blocs under the pressure of NATO that claims to be global, we're faced again with the concept of a Europe power. We hear European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, more and more often calling for "Europe's strategic autonomy." It is obvious to any rational person that the only solution to today's problems lies in a multipolar world based on the concept of mutual development, with new agreements in place for a security architecture and win-win growth strategies for all of the world's nations.

It is noteworthy to say that not everyone has the same vision of "European strategic autonomy." There are those within Europe who still regard China as a systemic rival, and therefore advocate a policy of de-risking, i.e. of no longer being dependent on China, even if this is impossible. We observe a similar case in Germany's determination not to be dependent on Russian gas, thus destroying its own economy. Others, as we have seen on the question of Taiwan, do not want to be vassals of the US either. In an interview in France last year, Macron insisted on this point, calling for the emergence of a Europe that would become the "third pole" in the face of the US and China, while denouncing the "extraterritoriality of the dollar." 

For Europe, China is not a risk; one of its goals is to "pursue a path of peaceful development." China has become the world's leading economic power, with a number of progressive accomplishments like the reduction of extreme poverty, a problem that continues to persist in the rest of the world at large and in an impressive number of Western countries in particular, and physical economy planning driven by scientific and technological breakthroughs in cutting-edge fields such as nuclear power and space; besides, China boasts of the world's most developed railway infrastructure network. Not to mention the fact that China is a huge market of 1.4 billion people, including 400 million middle-income earners, and has been contributing over 30 percent to global economic growth for many years. For Europe, the real risk would be to do without China.  

There is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and Europe. On the contrary, China and certain European leaders are willing to establish a win-win cooperation between themselves in order to work together for the purpose of preservation and development of global industrial and supply chains whose stability and fluidity benefit the whole world. Indeed, the development of Africa and certain Asian and Latin American countries can only take place within the framework of international cooperation, and not in the geopolitical division between blocs as during the Cold War, which would inevitably drive the world into a third world war.   

I am convinced that the objective of France and Europe should not be to become a third power to resist the other 2, but to be the bridge, the catalyst of a new paradigm in which BRICS+ will not oppose the G7 and the West will no longer be in conflict with the rest. Europe's goal must be to turn humanity into a harmonious unit, in which systemic rivalry is replaced by mutual advantage, financial speculation is replaced by mutual development, and the clash of civilizations is avoided in favor of a genuine dialogue of civilizations.  

GT: This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. What expectations do you have for President Xi's visit to France? 

Périmony: France can and must play a leading role in the emergence of a multipolar world, as it has almost always maintained stable and friendly relations with China since January 1964, when General Charles de Gaulle declared France's official recognition of the People's Republic of China. Our president should be inspired by the wisdom of de Gaulle and see China not as a competitor, but as a friend to develop a win-win strategy between our two countries, particularly at a time where lots of people around the world need help from industrialized countries to fight against extreme poverty and lack of infrastructure.   

GT: Europe talks about reducing risks from China. But many French companies have gained a lot from doing businesses with China. How risky is the de-risking policy? Currently, what is the dominant trend in China-EU relations, de-risking or cooperation?

Périmony: In June 2015, then Chinese premier Li Keqiang paid an official visit to France and the two countries issued a joint statement on cooperation in third-party markets. In 2022, the two countries signed the Fourth Round China-France Third-Party Market Cooperation Pilot Project List. The list includes seven projects in such areas as infrastructure, environmental protection and new energy with a total value of over $1.7 billion. The cooperation involves such areas as Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. The world needs good news today more than ever. 

When I was in Shenzhen in December 2023, it was with great interest that I visited the international vaccine innovation center built as part of a strategic cooperation between the Chinese government and the French company Sanofi. Sanofi's first vaccine factory in China was built in Shenzhen, and today, the company manufactures 100 percent of the pertussis vaccines that are mandatory in China. This is also the case for a quarter of influenza vaccines. Sanofi is helping to set up an integrated system from R&D through production to distribution (including the 4°C cold transport chain) to China's remote areas. That's the way France and Europe have to cooperate with China. No de-risking, but cooperation. 

GT: Which other areas do you think China and France have the most potential to cooperate?

Périmony: France should join the Belt and Road Initiative to play a role in the dynamic of Africa's development. Unfortunately, as of today, France is not ready to join this initiative. Back in 2019, Italy was the only major European country to have signed an MOU, but then, under the pressure of some of its counterparts who considered China a systemic rival, it finally decided to give it up. 

Besides, I would like to highlight the two areas in which France and China have to cooperate more: thermonuclear fusion and space technology. Both our countries have very good engineers in these fields that represent the science of the future.