Europe Needs to Shed its Naivety about the Values Conflict with China

It seemed like a diplomatic masterstroke when President Xi Jinping convinced Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Emmanuel Macron, and the rest of the EU leaders to sign on to the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) in December, short-circuiting any coordination with the soon-to-enter-office Biden administration. However, on Thursday the European Parliament adopted a resolution that confined the CAI to the deep freezer. This was a rational reaction after China’s spree of rash sanctions on members of the European Parliament and other EU actors earlier this year.

 
Even against that grim background, some European diplomats still cannot believe that China’s leadership really is willing to sacrifice such an economic opening by its sanctions in response to EU sanctions on human rights abuses in Xinjiang. A German diplomat told me how much they conveyed to their Chinese counterparts that China overreacted and that its actions amounted to a self-inflicted wound. The hope seems to be that the Chinese leadership will act purely based on economic opportunities. But that remains wishful thinking.

 
My reading is that Beijing enacted its sanctions in the full awareness that such a move could sink the CAI. Xi invested personal capital in the investment agreement but he has several priorities that rank higher. Above all, he wants to stay in power. Next year he renews his mandate with the top brass of the Communist Party. Although Xi seems to be untouchable, having even codified his thinking into the constitution, he will still be on the lookout for internal enemies or dissent. Absolute power breeds paranoia. That means acting tough at home and abroad will be the default option for Xi.

 
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Πηγή: gmfus.org