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Interview: EU-China cooperation "has never been so important": Mogherini
By Zheng Jianghua, Shuai Rong (Xinhua) 08:29, April 18, 2017

BRUSSELS, April 17 -- The cooperation between the European Union(EU) and China has never been so important in a moment when multilateral global governance is open to doubt, EU's High Representative for Foreign affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice Presdent Federica Mogherini told Xinhua in an exclusive written interview ahead of her visit to China.

China will be Mogherini's first stop of her seven-day diplomatic trip kicking off from April 18, followed by India and Russia.

In China, Mogherini will co-chair the 7th EU-China Strategic Dialogue with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi on April 19, in order to lay the groundwork for the 19th EU-China Summit in Brussels scheduled for June.

"The European Union and China share the view of a global order based on multilateralism and on the UN system: our cooperation has never been so important, in a moment when multilateral global governance is put in question from many sides," Mogherini said.

She underscored that a greater engagement from China in world affairs can "open so many opportunities, on so many issues of common interest," noting that a Chinese special envoy attended the international conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region earlier this month, and praising China's crucial role in the Afghanistan peace process.

"I know there are people in the world who have concerns about a more confident and outward-looking China. I don't share this view," she said, adding, "China can play a very positive role on so many fields, from Afghanistan to Syria, and we Europeans are ready to step up our cooperation in all these fields."

Even in the area of defence, Mogherini also saw deepened cooperation between the EU and China. "One example that comes to mind is that our respective military commanders in Mali and Somalia have identified possibilities for cooperation on capacity-building support."

She also expressed hope that the EU and China can achieve progress regarding the Korean Peninsula issue.

With the 19th EU-China Summit on the horizon, the EU foreign policy chief said it will be another opportunity to deepen not only bilateral cooperation, but also common work for a more cooperative global order.

"We hope that the Summit will register progress on the investment agreement, adopt an ambitious statement on climate change and clean energy and agree joint connectivity projects," she said.

"If we act together, we can be an irresistible force for a free and fair trade, for multilateralism and sustainable development," she added.

She also resonated with the concept of "a community of common destiny for mankind" put forth by Chinese leaders, saying she very much shared what she thought the core of the vision: the quest for mutually beneficial solutions among equal partners.

"This means promoting multilateralism and the importance of the United Nations, committing to a free and fair trade, and promoting a more sustainable development, with more equality inside our countries and among countries," she said.

"We also have an interest, or I would rather say a duty and a responsibility, to work together to tackle climate change and implement the Paris agreement. " she added.

Admitting that there are differences between the two sides, Mogherini underscored it is in both sides' interests to overcome differences and "isolation is not the answer to any of the problems of our times."

"China is a country with the size of a continent: it only makes sense that you look for interlocutors of your size," Mogherini said.

"It is essential that Europe and China continue to make the case for a fair and open international system," she said. " We must demonstrate with real action that we stand on the side of cooperation, of engagement, of strong and just global rules."
 
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Geopolitical Divorce: EU to Choose Between US Blackmail and Chinese Investments


© REUTERS/ Alessandro Bianchi
18:08 30.05.2017

Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent call for Europeans to take their fate into their own hands resembles a move towards the EU's "geopolitical divorce" from Washington, Russian economist Ivan Danilov writes for RIA Novosti.

It appears that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to "get a divorce" from Washington, Ivan Danilov, a Russian economist and author of the popular blog Crimson Alter, writes for RIA Novosti.

"The times in which we could completely depend on others are, to a certain extent, over," Merkel told an election rally in Munich following US President Donald Trump's visit to Europe. "I've experienced that in the last few days; we Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands."

According to Danilov, Merkel's statement resembled nothing so much as a petition for geopolitical divorce from the US due to a US misunderstanding of the EU's role in global politics.

However, the crisis of transatlantic solidarity between Washington and Brussels has both ideological and financial causes.

"Unfortunately, the ideological component receives disproportionate attention in expert and public discussions," Danilov noted, adding that the financial issue also deserves attention.

There is a problem that has become the apple of discord between US and EU leaderships and the price of this apple is almost 330 billion euros per year.

"The aforementioned figure corresponds to 2% of the EU's GDP for 2015; this particular 'tribute' is demanded by the US president in the form of annual European investments in the collective 'defense piggy bank'," Danilov wrote.

Indeed, during his appearance at the NATO headquarters, Trump signaled clearly that the payback time has come.

Members of the alliance must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations," Trump said, "Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States."

The truth of the matter is that during his election campaign Trump promised the American military-industrial complex that he would force NATO member states to fork out, the blogger explained. Now the US president is simply delivering on his election promise.

To add to the controversy, what Trump demands is nothing but a "tribute," not just payment for "security services," Danilov highlighted, calling attention to the fact that the US president failed to pledge a commitment to Article 5, dedicated to the alliance's collective defense.

Instead of endorsing the "one-for-all, all-for-one" principle, the US president "offered a vague promise to 'never forsake the friends that stood by our side' in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks," the New York Times wrote, commenting on the issue.

"The White House told the NYT yesterday that Trump would finally endorse Article 5. The fact that he did not is astonishing and it shows… that someone in the White House or POTUS [Trump] himself took it out. This will come as a huge shock to NATO members," Thomas Wright, the director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the influential Brookings Institution, tweeted.

In the eyes of the Europeans, this means that they are offered to pay 330 billion euros per year virtually for nothing: Trump has not provided them with any security guarantees, Danilov remarked.

In this context, the idea of a new European armed forces, which has been repeatedly voiced by President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, takes on a new significance, he added.

Back in November 2016, Juncker told reporters that the EU needs to "overhaul" its defense strategy and consider the creation of a European army.

"We have a lot to thank the Americans for… but they won't look after Europe's security forever. We have to do this ourselves, which is why we need a new approach to building a European security union with the end goal of establishing a European army," Juncker said.

According to Danilov, EU officials would rather endorse spending 330 billion euros per year on European needs, rather than hand this money to the US president and Pentagon.

There is yet another factor that could deepen the rift between the EU and Washington: Trump has reportedly threatened to complicate the access of German automakers to the US market.

"The Germans are bad, very bad," the US president said, as quoted by Der Spiegel's sources, "See the millions of cars they sell in the US, terrible. We will stop this."

Such a prospect would obviously disappoint both Chancellor Merkel and her voters, Danilov remarked, adding that the German leader is not the only European official disheartened by Washington's growing ambitions.

Meanwhile, there is a potential light at the end of the tunnel and this "light" is called the China-led One Belt One Road initiative, the Russian blogger emphasized.

"Indeed, against the background of open American blackmail and general hostility, Chinese investments, as well as the Chinese globalization project 'One Belt — One Road', in which Russia plays a key role, look very attractive in the eyes of the EU," Danilov stressed.

While the geopolitical divorce between Washington and the EU will apparently take a lot of time, the giant crack has already appeared, the blogger believes.
 
More sensationalised bullshit. Toddler in Chief's twitter feed doesn't reflect US foreign policy and Europe increasing its defense spending doesn't mean it's going to oppose the US. It was long overdue because the US can't forever subsidize European security. Also UK was a huge obstacle for European integration. Now that it's finally leaving, it's more likely than ever.
 
I doubt Germany can get away from the US, unless all US bases leave Germany.

Maybe the EU tilts more toward China for economic cooperation while maintaining militarist Atlantic alliance for security. This balancing act may give Europe a greater leeway to develop independent policies.

In the long run, however, Trump being disrespectful and bossy, and demanding more contributions for war efforts and peacetime security may eventually reinforce the camp who demand an EU freed from the US security leash.

Big political shifts are hardest to notice.
 
Well, its just temporary until next US president.

No. This is a long-term trend. Something all parties should welcome. NATO should be dissolved and replaced with a Euro-centric military alliance.

EU can side with US when they need to BOMB someone, and side with China when they need to BUILD something. Win-win-win proposition.

Exactly. Two things are mutually exclusive.

I doubt Germany can get away from the US, unless all US bases leave Germany.

Three scenarios: 1) US leaves unilaterally 2) Germany kicks US out 3) Both countries mutually agree to remove bases.
 
China piles pressure on Trump by vowing to UPHOLD the Paris climate change agreement as premier urges 'others' to follow suit and EU leader tells US president not to 'change the (political) climate for the worse'

Published: 09:46 BST, 1 June 2017 | Updated: 11:03 BST, 1 June 2017
  • EU President Donald Tusk wrote on Twitter: 'please don't change the (political) climate for the worse'
  • China and the EU are expected to agree a joint statement on the Paris climate agreement saying it is 'an imperative more important than ever'
  • White House sources said Donald Trump would pull United States out of Paris climate agreement that Barack Obama signed the US on to
  • Just two countries - Syria and Nicaragua - are out of the deal and countries still to ratify it include Russia, Iran and North Korea
  • Trump had faced an intense global lobbying effort from the Pope and European leaders as well as pressure from his daughter Ivanka but went against it
  • Ivanka Trump had advised her father against an exit from the accord that commits participants to drastically reducing greenhouse gases
  • United Nations secretary-general led worldwide calls for Trump to change his mind and stay in the deal
China has piled pressure on Donald Trump by vowing to uphold the Paris climate agreement as EU President Donald Tusk tweeted the president no to 'change the (political) climate for the worse.'

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In a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (left) said today:

'China will continue to implement promises made in the Paris Agreement, to move towards the 2030 goal step by step steadfastly'

'But of course, we also hope to do this in cooperation with others.'

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Meanwhile, China and the EU are expected to agree a joint statement on the Paris climate agreement saying it is 'an imperative more important than ever'. The joint statement to be released after a meeting in Belgium on Friday is expected to say:

'The EU and China consider the Paris agreement as an historic achievement further accelerating the irreversible global low greenhouse gas emission and climate resilient development.'

Donald Trump has announced he will be revealing his decision on the Paris climate change accord today at 3pm. Trump tweeted at 9pm on Wednesday: 'I will be announcing my decision on Paris Accord, Thursday at 3PM. The White House Rose Garden. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'

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As of Wednesday afternoon, he claimed that despite press reports that he was determined to pull the US from the accord, that he continues to entertain arguments on both sides of the issue

Read the full article at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4561780/EU-president-tweets-Donald-Trump.html
 
The United States and Europe appear to be hurtling toward a messy breakup. China, meanwhile, is ready to pounce.
Beijing is in prime position to capitalize on major policy fissures that have emerged between Europe and the Trump administration on climate, trade and defense.


The new dynamic will be on full display on Thursday in Brussels, when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with EU counterparts at the annual EU-China Summit. Hours later, President Trump is expected to announce the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

"If peace and prosperity are the object of the global economic order, the Trump administration offers neither to Europeans," wrote analysts at High Frequency Economics, a research firm. "A new axis of power, based on economic power, will form between Europe and China if the U.S. continues to shirk its role as global leader."

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Beijing appears to be chomping at the bit, having asked for the summit to be moved forward to June.

A closer relationship between the two giant economies is easier said than done, however. There are major questions over the compatibility of the economic systems promoted by Europe and China, as well as differences over flashpoint issues including human rights.
Whose globalization is it anyway?

Europe and China have both been unsettled by Trump's confrontational stance on trade.

With the United States fueling fears of protectionism, Brussels and Beijing are advocating free trade. But that doesn't mean they're on the same page.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has styled himself as a defender of globalization, making a keynote speech at Davos and hosting an international summit about China's grand plan to foster more trade.

But Xi's signature "One Belt, One Road" initiative, which some critics say is a neo-colonial project with China at its core, has provoked wariness in Europe.

Related: China has a grand plan to dominate world trade

Top European leaders were absent from a Beijing summit in May that focused on the plan, and a key lobby group expressed doubts publicly.

"Trade must flow in both directions to make the new trading routes both economically viable and politically acceptable to the foreign countries through which it will pass," Jorge Wuttke, the president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China at the time, wrote in an opinion article for the Financial Times.

He said that for every five trains full of cargo that leave the Chinese city of Chongqing for Germany every week, only one full train returns.

Related: China's new world order

Buying power

One of the most sensitive issues in the EU is the increasing number of European companies being bought up by Chinese firms.

Chinese direct investment in EU countries soared 77% last year to $35 billion, according to a study by Rhodium Group and the Mercator Institute for China Studies. That's more than five times the total for 2013.

By contrast, direct investment from EU companies in China dropped to $8 billion in 2016, the fourth consecutive year of decline.

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China's version of the World Bank wants U.S. to join



Chinese investment in Europe especially targeted technology and advanced manufacturing businesses, according to the Rhodium study. That trend has raised fears in counties like Germany of a loss of crucial industrial technology to Chinese buyers.

It's a particular concern because China doesn't allow a similar degree of investment in key sectors of its own economy.

Ahead of this week's summit, European businesses are calling on Beijing to "walk the talk" on globalization by allowing them greater access to restricted industries.

Earlier this year, the EU Chamber of Commerce slammed Beijing over its strategy to boost China's own high-tech industries like robotics and electric cars.

Related: European firms slam Beijing's 'Made in China' plan

Trade disputes

Brussels and Beijing have also had their share of traditional trade spats.

The latest example came in May, when Europe slapped anti-dumping duties on pipes and tubes made from steel and iron in China. It's one of dozens of similar measure imposed in recent years.

Chinese companies, many of them owned by the state, stand accused of dumping steel on foreign markets at very low prices as demand slowed at home.

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China's TPP alternative



Beijing, meanwhile, has other priorities: It keeps steel factories running at full capacity because they keep millions of workers in well-paid jobs.

But there's also a cost: Unions and politicians in Europe's industrial heartland of Germany, Belgium and northern Italy complain bitterly of Chinese trade practices.

A new era

Still, there are areas where Europe and China should be able to find common ground. Climate is a prime example.

In a draft statement ahead of the summit, Beijing and Brussels agreed to accelerate what they call the "irreversible" shift away from fossil fuels.

Li reinforced the message during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"We are going to move forward," he said. "We ask the other countries to cooperate with us, to do it together."

Related: Big business wants Trump to stick with Paris climate accord

That sentiment -- combined with a diminished leadership role for the U.S. -- could lead to more cooperation and a deepening of the relationship between China and the EU.

"This is the basis for a sea change in global power," said analysts at High Frequency Economics. "Watch out."

-- Mariano Castillo contributed to this report.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/31/news/economy/china-europe-eu-trump-us-trade/index.html
 
EU Leaders Turn to China After Trump Visit Clouds U.S. Relations
Bloomberg News
May 31, 2017, 5:00 PM EDT
  • Chinese premier to attend summit in Brussels starting Thursday
  • Expected to discuss trade, investment and climate change
After a tumultuous week hosting U.S. President Donald Trump, European leaders will look to fare better when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Brussels on Thursday.

The two-day summit presents an opportunity for China to demonstrate its leadership on global issues from free trade to climate change at a time when the U.S. is turning inward. Yet European Union officials remain skeptical that China will follow through on President Xi Jinping’s commitment to global trade expressed in Davos in January, and the two economic powers remain mired in long-standing tussles over issues such as market access and selling goods below cost.

EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will attend the summit, where China will be looking for progress on the EU’s proposal to begin recognizing it as a market economy -- a status that makes it more difficult to impose anti-dumping measures on its exports. The two sides will also seek to work on a stalled investment deal that’s seen as a precursor to a potential trade agreement.

“The country needs to walk the talk,” European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom told the European Business Summit in Brussels in May. “Whatever President Xi says in Davos, China is still far from a market economy.”

‘Very Bad’
The summit is taking place days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who will meet with the Chinese premier in Berlin on Thursday morning -- gave her strongest indication that Europe and the U.S. are drifting apart. During his first foreign trip, Trump raised questions over relations with traditional U.S. allies when he hectored NATO nations for not spending enough on defense and called Germany’s trade surplus “very bad.”

The summit gives China’s leaders the chance to show that their aspirations to lead on economic globalization are sincere, said Mats Harborn, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. He said it’s time for the two economies to back up their words by moving forward to complete the investment agreement and to offer reciprocal market access.

At the meeting, the EU and China will seek to create momentum for a bilateral investment agreement, according to a European official with knowledge of the discussions who asked not to be named because talks are ongoing. Europeans have said an investment accord is a precondition for any move toward a broader EU-China trade deal.

“The Sino-European relationship is up in the air,” said Philippe Le Corre, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe. “From Brussels, the list of unsolved issues remains: market economy status, bilateral investment treaty, lack of market access to European companies in China.”

Three years of talks between Brussels and Beijing on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment have stalled. European businesses remain disappointed with China’s efforts to level the playing field for companies operating in the nation, the EU’s second-largest trading partner, a survey by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China showed on Wednesday.

Half of European companies feel less welcome in China than when they first entered the market, according to the survey. More than half reported that they are treated unfairly compared to domestic Chinese companies.

A January report conducted by Rhodium Group and the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies estimated that Chinese direct investment in the EU surged 77 percent to 35 billion euros ($39 billion) in 2016. In contrast, the value of EU transactions in China decreased for a fourth straight year to only 8 billion euros.

At the Brussels meeting, the EU will press the Chinese government to accelerate steps to open up the domestic economy, according to the official, who also said Europe would raise sensitive trade matters such as demands for China to cut steel overcapacity.

Difficulties, Discrimination
“We all know European companies investing in China face difficulties and discrimination,” EU Trade Commissioner Malmstrom said. “It’s not fair competition or fair trade when the playing field is tilted against you, with dumping and subsidies.”

China is also complaining. Beijing has alleged the EU’s method for calculating anti-dumping measures against Chinese products including steel violates agreements at the World Trade Organization, which has begun investigating the issue, Bloomberg reported in April.

The European Commission drafted legislation late last year that would abolish the non-market-economy label the EU assigns to China when probing alleged below-cost imports. The measures, which would make it more difficult to impose high anti-dumping duties, need the support of EU governments and lawmakers in a process that can take months or years.

The EU should “avoid causing negative impact on the development of China-EU trade and economic relations,” Wang Hejun, director of the Chinese commerce ministry’s Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, said in a statement objecting to the EU’s extension of anti-dumping measures relating to photovoltaic products in March.

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Aside from trade and investment, other potential sticking points may include tensions over China’s construction of military facilities in the East and South China Seas. Leaders at last weekend’s Group of Seven summit urged parties to “pursue demilitarization of disputed features” in the disputed waters.

The meeting may yield more common ground on combating climate change, with both the EU and China already signaling their intentions to advance the Paris Agreement. Trump failed to commit to the global pact at the G-7 gathering and announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he would make a decision on whether to remain in the accord “over the next few days.”

Regardless of the U.S. president’s decision on the Paris Agreement, the EU and China will pledge to stand by their commitments on curbing greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the European official.

As China-EU economic and trade relations continue to grow, some existing differences between them may be eliminated while others arise, according to Ambassador Yang Yanyi, head of the Chinese mission to the EU.

“This is just natural,” Yang told China’s official Xinhua News Agency in an interview before the summit. “The key is to understand how to manage and handle these differences properly.”

— With assistance by Keith Zhai, and Peter Martin

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/polit...-china-after-trump-visit-clouds-u-s-relations
 

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