欧洲领导人说：我们不能失去中国
2023-03-26 08:04阅读：
现在欧洲领导人正在预订飞往北京的航班。
“中国并非完美无缺，但有一天我们会需要中国”，文章就引述一名欧盟官员的话说，在欧盟内部，不少成员国赞同这一评估。
We can't lose China, EU leaders say
Xi's blooming bromance with Vladimir Putin is freaking EU leaders
out. Now they're booking flights to Beijing.
BY STUART LAU, JACOPO BARIGAZZI, GREGORIO SORGI AND CLEA
CAULCUTT
BRUSSELS — European leaders are suddenly falling over each other to
get to China.
Amid growing concern that Chinese leader Xi is hardening his
support for Russia's war in Ukraine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro
Sánchez announced on Thursday he will fly to Beijing for talks next
week. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, will follow on a
longer-planned trip on April 4.
A succession of European Union leaders
used a summit in Brussels to raise the alarm about China’s
ostentatious backing for Vladimir Putin this week, warning that
they could not stand by while Beijing and Moscow cement an alliance
that risks tipping the world deeper into crisis.
Their concerns followed Xi’s high-profile trip to the Russian
capital, which shored up the position of his long-standing friend,
Putin.
During a private session in Brussels, Macron urged his colleagues
to redouble their efforts to stop China from deepening its support
for Russia's invasion. “The French president underlined the need to
make the utmost efforts to ensure that China does not support
Russia and its capacity to move ahead with the war,” an EU official
said.
The stakes in the shifting geopolitical dynamics could hardly be
higher for Europe, or the wider world. A firmer partnership between
China and Russia would risk escalating the Ukraine war into a
conflict between NATO governments and Beijing, as well as Moscow.
Then there is the looming threat of a military clash between
Beijing and Washington over Taiwan, which Western analysts say is
at growing risk of invasion by Chinese forces.
Even without a military escalation, tensions are rising between
Beijing and the West over security and trade. In recent weeks, a
series of European governments have hit Chinese-owned social media
company TikTok with restrictions, amid concern that Beijing’s
dominance of technology poses a security risk to the West.
At the same time, EU governments are drawing up plans to limit
their reliance on China for critical raw materials such as lithium
for electric car batteries.
Speaking to media during the summit in Brussels, Latvian leader
Krišjnis Kariš described the Xi-Putin meeting in Moscow as
“eye-opening for Europe.”
The meeting, he said, showed that “China is not taking the role of
a broker [but is] moving overtly on the side of Russia and this is
a difficulty for all of us.” Kariš added that Beijing has the
driving seat in its relationship with Russia, but it remains
unclear where they want to drive this relationship.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausda and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf
Kristersson also expressed concerns over the possibility of China
providing concrete support to Russia, according to two diplomats
involved in the summit in Brussels.
Spain’s Sánchez, meanwhile, confirmed he would be meeting Xi in
China next week. Spanish officials said he would discuss China’s
position paper on Ukraine. Spain will take over the rotating
presidency of the Council of the EU from Sweden later this
year.
While EU leaders raised fears over the closer Moscow-Beijing ties,
there was no consensus in Brussels on whether the bloc as a whole
should adopt a new approach to China.
Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel called for continued
engagement with Beijing to try to bring the Chinese closer.
We might need China one day
'China is not perfect, but we might need it one day,' one EU
official said. 'Several member states share this assessment.'
Others, though, are seemingly in support of a tougher line on China
given the latest situation.
Macron’s diplomatic adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, talked to top Chinese
diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday. “China expects France and other
European countries to play a part in … pursuing political
resolution,” Wang said.
During his Moscow trip this week, Xi made no public promises of
military support for Russia. However, U.S. officials have been
warning of Beijing's willingness to give lethal aid to Moscow.
POLITICO reported that 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment
that could be used for military purposes have been sent to Russia
from Chinese companies.
