EU Commission chief calls for rebalancing ties with China

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday urged the bloc to re-balance its relationship with China.

Speaking at a joint event of the Mercator Institute for China Studies and the European Policy Centre, Von der Leyen stressed that the EU needs to “rebalance” its relationship with China since it is currently “unbalanced and increasingly affected by distortions created by China’s state capitalist system.”

She said China is aiming to make itself “less dependent on the world and the world more dependent on China,” especially in cutting-edge technology.

“China is becoming more repressive at home and more assertive abroad,” she said, referring to “grave human rights violations” against Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang province and “escalatory actions” towards EU societies.

She stressed that the EU should not “cut economic, societal, political and scientific ties,” but it should aim for “fairer and more disciplined” competition in trade.

“China's changing policies may require us to develop new defensive tools for some critical sectors” of microelectronics, quantum computing, robotics, AI, and biotech, Von der Leyen explained.

She also called on drawing a “clear line” in investment and trade when “dual-use purposes cannot be excluded or human rights might be implicated.”​​​​​​​