A four-day visit, and a warning: European companies are “worried” in China and are wondering about their future, specifies European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. The cause is “the more politicized commercial environment”, points out the commissioner, starting with the recently approved national security laws. “The new foreign relations law and the new version of the anti-espionage law are of great concern to our business community,” he stressed, because “their ambiguity leaves too much room for interpretation.”
This context has led 11% of European companies surveyed to move their current investments out of China, according to the Union Chamber of Commerce, which made this observation in its annual report. This increase in contacts between Brussels and Beijing comes as the Union seems to be raising its voice regarding Chinese commercial practices, denounced as “unfair” by President Ursula von der Leyen.
Beijing’s position on Ukraine ‘damages their reputation’, says EU
The latter announced on September 13, in a speech in Strasbourg, the launch of an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles. Beijing denounced a “protectionist” measure which will have “a negative impact on economic relations”. The European Commissioner also warned China about another issue penalizing its image: the conflict in Ukraine. Beijing’s refusal to condemn the Russian invasion “harms the image” of China, he warned.
“There is (…) a risk in terms of reputation for China” and this posture “harms the image of the country, not only vis-à-vis European consumers, but also businesses”. “So it is very difficult for us to understand China’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine, because it violates China’s fundamental principles,” he said.