Sino-European Relations Tend Toward Stability

July 17, 2024

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Chinese President Xi Jinping's European tour in May this year included visits to France, Serbia, and Hungary and established closer personal contacts with European leaders, bringing Sino-European relations back on normalized stable tracks.

Since 2019, Sino-European relations have entered a downward trajectory. The European Union (EU) has positioned China as a cooperation partner, negotiating partner, economic competitor, and systematic rival, among which "systematic rival" has become a buzzword in European media. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, European media have viewed any decision made by China from a biased perspective, as if those decisions were made against Europe. For instance, China's provision of masks to Europe was labeled as "mask diplomacy," aimed at dividing Europe. After the Ukraine crisis broke out, European public opinion shifted its focus to China, believing that Russia did not collapse under severe Western sanctions due to support from China. From the perspective of mainstream media in Europe, China's role in the Ukraine crisis is comparable to that of "evil Russia."

In this context, the Sino-French summit reached a consensus and upheld the bottom line of Sino-French relations. The meetings between the leaders of China, Serbia, and Hungary have strengthened China's presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

President Emmanuel Macron wanted to create closer personal relations with President Xi Jinping, so he invited Xi to a private location in the Pyrenees, where he had spent his childhood vacations. This arrangement mirrored President Xi Jinping's trip with President Macron to Guangzhou last year for more private conversations. Similarly, former French President Jacques Chirac created a friendly personal relationship with former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, which further contributed to strong Sino-French relations.

In France, the President is the ultimate decision-maker in foreign policy. Despite the unfavorable public opinion toward China and the unfriendly attitude of some French government officials toward China, President Macron's attitude will ultimately uphold the bottom line and prevent Sino-French relations from derailing.

Serbia and Hungary are staunch supporters of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China, and they have benefited from the infrastructure projects under the BRI. The railway connecting Hungary and Serbia, currently under construction with China's assistance, has become a flagship project of the BRI. Its success has greatly helped to reverse the stereotype of "Made in China" among Europeans, just as the high-speed railway connecting Jakarta and Bandung has raised the profile of "Made in China" in Southeast Asian countries.

Understanding electoral politics is crucial. When domestic problems pile up, diverting public attention often becomes a strategy for not addressing these issues. Currently, due to economic stagflation and numerous social conflicts, Western countries, such as the United States and some European countries, regard China as the scapegoat for all the problems they are facing. This approach is the easiest way for Western politicians to shirk responsibility. Consequently, many think tanks and mainstream media in Western societies focus their efforts on smearing China instead of seeking solutions to their own problems. The reason behind this is the Western electoral system. Therefore, China cannot expect Western mainstream media to come up with fair and balanced reporting, even when Chinese leaders visit Europe seeking to strengthen Sino-European relations.

Nevertheless, President Xi's visit to Europe has triggered ordinary Europeans' interest in China. There has been a surge of European tourists coming to China, and social media is now full of content about China's realities, which stand in sharp contrast to the narratives of their mainstream media. The gap between biased mainstream media reports about China and more accurate depictions will eventually expose the misconceptions and falsehoods perpetuated by Western traditional media.

China should give Western tourists more privileges when visiting China, such as extending the visa-free stay from 15 days to one month or longer. This would allow them to explore China's vast cultural diversity in depth and foster a more accurate understanding of the country.

European businesses are coming back to China in search of opportunities, despite warnings from their governments and the European Commission. In fact, since the financial crisis in 2008, China has become the main driving force of the global economy, accounting for about a third of new growth in the world. Since the pandemic, China has increased its investment in renewable energy development, achieving advantages in the production of renewable energy equipment and materials. China has also become the biggest exporter of vehicles, thanks to the performance of its electric vehicles. However, the US and the EU have begun to point fingers at China's new competitive advantages, expressing concerns about China's "overcapacity" in new energy and electric vehicles. This will likely be used to justify raising new tariffs against China's exports.

In international trade, a country that has comparative advantages in a certain sector will naturally sell more products in that sector compared to other countries. That's why the US sells more Boeing airplanes and the EU sells more Airbus airplanes to China. Does China complain about the overcapacity of the US or the EU in airplane manufacturing because they sell more airplanes to China? Of course not. It makes no sense. All of us, the US, the EU, and China, can benefit from international trade. The same logic should also apply to China selling renewable energy equipment and electric vehicles to the US and the EU. As a member of the UN, China has made firm commitments to reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. So far, with the exception of China, most countries are struggling to meet these targets.

Let's have a look at figures provided by some international institutions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) published reports indicating that if all countries fulfill their emission reduction commitments, by 2030, the annual demand for new energy vehicles (NEVs) and lithium batteries globally will exceed 70 million units and 6,600 gigawatt-hours (GWh), respectively, which are 5.5 and 4.9 times the global output in 2023. In other words, from 2024 to 2030, the world must reach an average annual growth rate of at least 25.5 percent for the production of NEVs and 27.5 percent for lithium batteries to achieve these targets.

Reports from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) suggest that to meet global temperature control goals, the cumulative installed capacity of global photovoltaic power generation needs to reach at least 5,200 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. This means that from 2024 to 2030, the average annual growth rate of cumulative installed photovoltaic capacity needs to reach 18.4 percent, with an average annual addition of more than 515 GW. This figure is roughly equivalent to China's current level of photovoltaic cell production.

To put it plainly, China's development of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic cell production has been driven by the growing global needs in these sectors. Despite China's laudable achievements in green technology, meeting overall goals for global sustainability requires cooperation with the greater world. Therefore, other countries must invest more in those sectors as well. China welcomes European enterprises to cooperate with Chinese companies to boost production capacity, meet carbon emission reduction targets, and keep global warming under control.

 

Please note: The above contents only represent the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of Taihe Institute.

 

This article is from the June issue of TI Observer (TIO), which explores China-Europe relations during a time of international upheaval, focusing on issues like green development, regional conflicts, and trade barriers as well as the opportunities and challenges ahead. If you are interested in knowing more about the June issue, please click here:

http://en.taiheinstitute.org/UpLoadFile/files/2024/6/28/152632490d3194c2-0.pdf

 

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