In the trade dispute with the United States, Beijing makes greater concessions to the EU than ever before. What came out of the in-depth partnership really needs to show up yet, writes Frank Sieren.
After all, the stars were once on a line, nice side by side flags, which sparkled just behind the negotiating table in the flashlights of photographers draped in red China – and blue. At the EU-China summit in the Great hall of the people advised the EU leaders on Monday in Beijing on the future of Sino-European cooperation. Now, since the USA put Trump on it alone, to Europe and China to demonstrate unity. “We are all aware that the world of architecture is changing before our eyes,” said EU Council President Donald Tusk. China’s Premier Li Keqiang agreed with him in China and Europe are “two forces, the need to contribute to the preservation of stability” in the world.
EU Council President Donald Tusk, China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (l. to r) at the summit in Beijing
In contrast to the peaks of the past two years, the EU and China agreed to a joint Declaration. They wanted to not only work together economically close, but also together on a Reform of the WTO and an agreement on investment file, which could be an important precursor for a free trade agreement. Also, issues of climate protection and international security policy was discussed. Still, you could prevent “conflict and Chaos,” said Donald Tusk. He had the trade dispute before the eyes, the first name of cousin in the White house from the fence has broken.
The benefits for Europe
This is quite positive for Europe: Because of the tensions with Washington, Beijing opens its doors to European companies more than ever. Now be exchanged between the EU and China every day Goods to the value of 1.5 billion Euro. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made Beijing’s ambiguous compliments: China could open quite economical, if it wants to. The forced transfers of technology to foreign companies in China has already been loosened. BASF is now allowed to build single-handedly by 2030, a ten-billion-Euro facility in Guangdong, which is the largest in Asia and the third largest of the chemical will be giants at all. BMW received permission to buy the majority stake in an Auto Joint Venture in Shenyang, China. Also a novelty. China will open its markets to foreign capital, promised to Premier Li to the Europeans. Already at the beginning of July, the Chinese negative list, the controls have been reduced, what are the areas for foreign investors are locked out of 63 prohibited sectors to 48.
DW-columnist Frank Sieren
However, the EU, the opening up of the market does not go fast enough. You want to be treated in China is just as accessible as Chinese companies in Europe. Beijing does not want to give up control of its state monopolies, however, still completely out of Hand. So some of the declarations of intent of the summit remained vague. They wanted to forms of “synergies between the silk road Initiative and the EU initiatives”. It sounds as if the EU and China is already equivalent initiatives on the table. The connectivity platform, EU-China and the last of the “16+1″summit in Bulgaria to the effect of the Trans-European Transport network, especially in Eastern Europe, with a network of roads, rails, ports and waterways, remains a paper tiger. The cooperation should be driven by “the shared principles of the market rules”, transparency and equal opportunities for all investors, as well as “the established international standards”. You should, however, also correspond to “the laws of the countries that benefit from the projects, where you have to their policy and the situation of individual countries into account.”
Such formulations can, of course, room for interpretation. The EU could insist on international standards, the Chinese people on the regional characteristics refer to, when it comes to short-term action plans zuimplementieren. Real progress, there were at least five years after China’s President has launched Xi Jinping, the project of the New silk road the EU is now ready, with China a joint China-EU Investment Fund. Each page is at least 250 million euros. The Fund is intended to help especially small and medium-sized companies to benefit from the silk road. Now the question is, how long will it take until the first joint project will begin.
No one wants to exclude the USA
A made both sides at the summit: The US no one wants to exclude. Because of a fragmented world order, nobody has something. “The China-EU summit is not directed against any third party and is not influenced by any third country,” said Li diplomatically. Trump, who was the same time at the Meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, had referred to the EU in an Interview due to their trading practices, even as an opponent of the United States. Nevertheless, Beijing and Brussels are trying to Washington. Multilateralism was the best way to solve the current global problems, proclaimed on both sides of the summit. You know: A Reform of the world trade organization comes into existence only when the USA play. It is provided with a revised set of rules, the problems in the case of industrial subsidies, unfair competition, export financing, and forced transfers of technology to quickly solve can. And the United States benefit, because the majority of the problems in Washington, but Brussels, too, with China’s socialist market economy.
Unique enemy images there are in the current policy of commuting as little as unproblematic partnerships. Brussels sees in the USA is still an ally with the same cultural values. “The Europeans are giving up on America, because America gave up on us, never. That’s what friends are there”, tweeted EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, the night before the EU-China summit. The brachial politicians Trump is finally, eternally sitting in the White house. And China still hopes that its largest trading partner, comes to his Senses.
In September, the Handover of the first, in the Chinese plant in Tianjin, the assembled Airbus has been celebrated
This, in turn, can be bad for the EU. Brussels must remain vigilant: as good As it is to the European-Chinese economic relations are currently like – the pendulum could at any time lay in the other direction exclusively, some Beijing and Washington in the trade dispute. Because the Chinese buy as a concession to Trump, in the future, significantly more Were in the US, will be lost to the Europeans shops. Now, an order for 140 Airbus planes on ice. Beijing does not want to specify yet whether the money would not be invested better in the case of Boeing in the USA.
Our columnist Frank Sieren has lived for more than 20 years in Beijing.