According to media news, during this period, the EU has been brewing sanctions against China, accusing 7 Chinese companies of exporting electronic components "for war purposes" to Russia, threatening to blacklist these Chinese companies, and related statements have appeared frequently, causing changes in the position of some European countries on China.
This made whether China-EU relations would be cold again a topic of discussion from the outside world, but things soon took a turn. Reuters pointed out that EU member states recently held a meeting to discuss sanctions against Russia.
A senior EU official proposed that those Chinese companies should also be included in the scope of sanctions, but Germany firmly opposed it. According to sources, more than one country supported Germany's position, and in the end, the perception that the EU must maintain a balance between sanctions and international diplomatic and trade relations prevailed.
European Union
In other words, Germany has actually sided with China within the EU and has not turned as feared. Of course, this is because of the close economic ties between China and Germany, but under the continuous pressure of the United States, another reason may be related to China's advice to Berlin.
At the invitation of Germany, France and Norway, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited these countries from May 8 to 12, of which diplomatic activities with Germany were the top priority. During the meeting with German Foreign Minister Baerbock, Qin Gang bluntly said that China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions imposed by the EU.
At the same time, he stressed that China has always adhered to the concept of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, and China's export is opportunity rather than crisis, stability rather than turbulence, insurance rather than risk, and will continue to welcome German and European companies to further explore the Chinese market.
Chinese and German Foreign Ministers Meeting
At the time of Qin's visit to Germany, Berlin originally claimed to reconsider the transaction contract of Chinese companies for the "Fudi" terminal in the German port of Hamburg, but announced on May 10 that it would continue to reach the deal with Chinese enterprises, allowing the acquisition of 24.9% of the "Fudi" terminal.
This shows that Foreign Minister Qin Gang's words, Germany still listened, and our efforts also allowed Berlin to vote against EU sanctions against Chinese companies, knowing that Germany is one of the most important countries in the EU, as long as they do not agree, the sanctions proposal is almost impossible to pass.
As a result, China-EU relations have stabilized after a period of disruption, and in a very short period of time, bilateral relations have had ups and downs, which inevitably raises doubts about its sustainability and stability. However, international relations are complex and there is no possibility of linear development.
Sino-German relations
In particular, the United States has always wanted to unite with Europe to control China, and it is inevitable that Europe's position will waver, but in general, China-EU relations have been developing in a good direction. If the timeline is extended, this trend will be more obvious, and in 2021, the EU is still on the side of the United States.
At that time, the European Union cooperated with the United States in launching a ruling decision on relevant Chinese entities and individuals on the grounds of human rights issues. China immediately responded forcefully, which made the EU, which had always been high, very uncomfortable, but after some protests, it eventually failed.
Since then, the EU has gradually stopped following the United States on the issue of China, and last year the United States used the Russian-Ukrainian issue to bind the EU to itself, and the United States and Europe jointly launched unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia.
Biden
Under the influence of the United States, China-EU relations cooled sharply in the second half of 2022, and the European public opinion field was full of various statements about "decoupling" from China. At the critical moment, China invited German Chancellor Scholz to visit China, and China and Germany reached an order of 100 billion yuan.
Seeing Germany take the lead in making the choice, other European countries can't sit still. During the G20 summit, Western leaders, who had been pointing fingers at China, rushed to meet with Chinese leaders. Immediately afterwards, EU Council President Michel visited China at the end of last year, and China-EU relations were back on track.
At present, the United States has become more and more embarrassed, the looming debt crisis has made the Biden administration anxious, and the United States urgently needs the European Union to help itself on the China issue. But it is clear that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the United States to influence the behavior of the EU, and a pattern can be drawn from the changes in Sino-European relations in the past three years.
China-EU relations
China-EU relations have actually been in fluctuations, but each fluctuation EU independence has been enhanced, if you look at the world, you can find that this law is applicable to many countries and regions around the world, in the past two years, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America, have shown more and more self-awareness.
It is no coincidence that this phenomenon is widespread, and its essential reason is that the hegemony of the United States has declined, and all the important countries of the world have seen opportunities in it. Initially, some countries also feared possible retaliation by the United States.
But after seeing that Saudi Arabia repeatedly refused to obey the White House's orders, and the United States was helpless, the behavior of various countries became bold. Germany and the EU are no different from other countries, so over time, Europe will gradually part ways with the United States.