2023-12-06 17:53:00
Great tension ahead of the 24th Summit between the European Union and China which brings together the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and Chinese officials this Thursday in Beijing. This is also the first summit between the Twenty-Seven and Beijing since 2020, which then gave rise to the signing of an investment agreement. A meeting that is so important as relations between the two economic powers have deteriorated since the last summit, under the cover of latent commercial tensions. Moreover, the European executive did not wait for the meeting to voice its grievances. “ European leaders will not tolerate an imbalance in trade over the long term », warned Ursula Von der Leyen on Wednesday, in an interview in Brussels with AFP. A stone thrown into the water and which sets the tone of the meeting.
Standoff over access to the Chinese market
At the center of tensions, the EU criticizes the lack of access of European companies to the Chinese market because of a “ preferential treatment » granted to Chinese companies. A handicap for the Old Continent partly at the origin of the European Union’s trade deficit with China which has also doubled in two years to reach the record figure of 390 billion euros in 2022, underlined the representative European. THE ” imbalance is visible “, Chinese exports to the EU are three times more important than their imports, noted the German official.
The European Commission has already pointed out Beijing’s bad practices. While visiting China on September 25, its vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis denounced “ discriminations » which European companies would be subject to in China. “This has resulted in less transparency, unequal access to public markets, discrimination in security standards and requirements, as well as requirements in terms of localization and data transfer,” he said at the time. .
The summit could be an opportunity for the Twenty-seven to bang their fists on the table. Three measures considered protectionist should in particular be addressed by the EU. At the center of criticism, Chinese subsidies to national companies are seen as a real anti-competitive practice by the Twenty-seven. But local content clauses requiring companies to use Chinese materials, components or subcontractors in their production to access Chinese subsidies are also singled out. “ This tool increases the national added value in a product and leads Chinese companies to limit their use of European goods and services », explains Elvire Fabry, researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute. Finally, less visible but just as penalizing according to the expert, the control of the data of companies operating on Chinese territory, in the name of national security, would slow down European companies from investing in the country. “ This practice exposes European leaders to personal legal risks (a dissuasive practice for business leaders, editor’s note) », adds Elvire Fabry.
Europe strikes back
Faced with these accusations of protectionist practices, considered to be detrimental to European companies, the EU has already started to react. In September, the Commission notably announced the opening of an investigation into the support and subsidies of the Chinese authorities to national manufacturers of electric automobiles. A measure justified by the desire to defend European industry against vehicles sold, according to it, to “ artificially low price » on global markets. In response, China then denounced the investigation saying “CThis is nothing but pure protectionism. » and stressing that it would harm its trade relations with the EU.
But the European counter-offensive did not stop there. At the beginning of October, the EU also unveiled a list of strategic areas which must be better defended against states considered rivals such as China – in particular artificial intelligence.
« The EU wants more reciprocity and says it could be much tougher in its implementation of countermeasures. It plays on the importance of the European market for China, which is facing sluggish growth and has a strong need to export, to obtain concessions from Beijing. », Analyzes the researcher.
A summit that could solve nothing
With this meeting, the EU is therefore seeking to convince Beijing to stop the measures it considers protectionist. This objective is also so important for the Old Continent that the representative adopted a threatening tone on Wednesday. “ We have tools to protect our market “, she affirmed, while repeating her preference for “ negotiated solutions “. But Beijing was not impressed by the threat. “If the EU imposes strict restrictions on the export of high-tech products to China on the one hand, and hopes to significantly increase its exports to China on the other hand, I am afraid that this will not have meaning,” replied Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a few hours after the exit of the European manager.
These forewords lead the researcher from the Jacques Delors Institute to think that this summit “ risks being halfway between a rhetorical contest over reciprocal criticism and a more cooperative posture but which will remain rhetorical without commitment from Beijing. »
Indeed, even though Europe is taking advantage of the period of vulnerability of the former Middle Empire, the latter has a strong argument to defend its interests: its virtual monopoly on materials essential to the ecological transition. China is threatening to cut off the supply of gallium, germanium, graphite and other minerals used to make batteries or even solar panels… Of which it controls 90% of global refining. A supply disruption which would put Europe in a very bad position. The standoff between the two powers should therefore not be resolved tomorrow.
Confrontation announced over the evasion of sanctions against Russia
Apart from questions of competition, the two European leaders should also discuss the question of Ukraine and the circumvention of Western sanctions, with their Chinese interlocutors. Chinese companies are accused of helping Russia obtain products and technologies useful for its war effort against Ukraine.
« We are in an intense dialogue with China, and we are showing them different examples » on this subject, assured the President of the European Commission before ensuring that “ We call on China to act on these cases ».
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