Brussels, 13 Jun (Xinhua) -- Focusing on the EU's foreign relations and other topics, the European Council on Foreign Relations, a European think tank, recently conducted a questionnaire survey of 16,000 people in 11 EU countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Poland, and Bulgaria. Most respondents believe that Europe should maintain good economic and trade relations with China and should not take sides between China and the United States on political issues.
Analysts pointed out that the United States adheres to the Cold War mentality, provokes camp confrontation, constantly puts pressure on Europe, and vainly tries to pull a small circle to strengthen the containment and suppression of China, so as to maintain its hegemony. But the poll shows the true mindset of Europeans: it is not in Europe's interest to choose sides between China and the United States, and most Europeans do not buy it. The United States is just wishful thinking that Europe has a "choice of the two".
People rest outside the European Commission's headquarters building in Brussels, Belgium, May 6. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
China-EU economic and trade relations are close
China and the EU are important trading partners of each other, the trade structure is increasingly optimized, and the trading scale of green products such as lithium batteries, new energy vehicles, and photovoltaic modules is expanding rapidly. Chinese enterprises have invested rapidly in European greenfields, and more and more Chinese-funded enterprises in Europe have strongly supported the transformation of green, digital and intelligent industries in the EU. By the end of 2022, the stock of two-way investment between China and Europe has exceeded US$230 billion; In 2022, European investment in China will be US$12.1 billion, a significant increase of 70% year-on-year, and the automotive sector will continue to be the biggest hot spot. During the same period, China's investment in Europe was US$11.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21%, with new investment concentrated in new energy, automobiles, machinery and equipment.
Since March this year, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez and French President Macron have visited China one after another, and European companies have set off another upsurge of inspection in China. Peng Gang, Minister of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, said that European business executives have gone to China to promote cooperation projects, showing their firm confidence in investment and development in China.
On May 4, a train of European trains left the Erenhot railway port. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Xia Liang)
While China-EU economic and trade cooperation has deepened, the United States has been trying to win over Europe, trying to suppress Chinese enterprises and hinder China-EU cooperation. But the poll showed that only about 22 percent of respondents believe the risks of trade and investment cooperation between Europe and China outweigh the benefits. The authors note that this shows that most Europeans do not want to see less cooperation with China for the sake of so-called "de-risking".
Hakma, chairman of the EU-China Business Association, told Xinhua that the poll results truly reflect the interconnection between Europe and China. The EU-China trade and investment gains accumulated over the years have made the two sides dependent on each other, and the EU should establish good relations with China and maintain a pragmatic balance between the United States and China.
China and the EU share a wide range of common interests
The poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations showed that 43 percent of respondents considered China a "necessary strategic partner" for the EU. Analysts pointed out that in recent years, the United States has continuously created contradictions and provoked confrontation in EU-China relations, forcing European countries to become pawns in its game against China. The poll shows that the US approach is unpopular in Europe. China-EU relations have a solid foundation of public opinion and broad common interests.
This is the Geely Geometry Model C electric car photographed in Budapest, Hungary on November 4, 2022. China Geely Automobile Group and Hungary Grand Auto Central Europe held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony in Budapest on the 4th, marking the first time Geely Auto will enter the EU market. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Verdi Otillo)
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU and the issuance of the Chinese government's first policy paper on the EU. Nowadays, China-EU relations are becoming more and more mature, and the two sides have established more than 70 consultation and dialogue mechanisms, covering politics, economy and trade, humanities, science and technology, energy, environment and other fields.
On the international stage, both China and the EU are key forces in safeguarding world peace, supporting multilateralism and advocating economic globalization, and are also partners in a series of global governance system reforms. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell believes that the EU and China should cooperate for common interests, and the EU is inseparable from cooperation with China in protecting biodiversity, addressing climate change, and solving the debt problems of least developed countries.
Rodriguez, president of the European Foundation for Progressive Research, said that the EU and China are strategic partners and should strengthen cooperation in the formulation of global rules, especially in the fields of climate change, digital transformation and artificial intelligence. In recent years, China has put forward global security initiatives and global development initiatives, and the EU and China can strengthen cooperation in these areas.
Europe seeks autonomy and refuses to choose sides
The poll asked: "If there is a conflict between China and the United States, how should Europeans choose?" A whopping 62 percent of Europeans chose "neutrality." The authors of the report note that the United States and its dominant NATO claim that security problems in eastern Europe and the Indo-Pacific are closely linked, but polls show that Europeans do not agree with this statement.
Sebastian Conting, a researcher at the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that some people are trying to instill in the European people the impression that the United States has "made sacrifices for European security" and that Europe should be grateful to Dade for providing more military bases for the US military, buying more US weapons and equipment, and sharing military intelligence with the United States, but as polls show, this is not what most Europeans think.
People take a selfie in front of the Euro Sculpture in Frankfurt, Germany, October 13, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Yang
The poll also showed that 74% of respondents believe that European military defense should not rely on the United States, but need to develop its own defense capabilities. That's 8 percentage points higher than in 2020, when then-U.S. President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Analysts believe that from Trump to the current US President Joe Biden, his "America First" position has not changed in essence, which makes Europeans increasingly urgent to strengthen their strategic autonomy.
Conting said that in many areas, the United States only considers its own interests, never European interests, and the previous Inflation Reduction Act in the United States is a good example. The EU should strengthen its strategic autonomy, continuously enhance its own strength, formulate a more proactive and independent foreign policy, and strengthen cooperation with other major countries.
Source: Xinhua News Agency