EU leaders agree to ‘de-risk’ the bloc’s trade dealings with China
- Issue statement after Brussels meeting that move is to reduce supply chain dependencies, but that EU ‘does not intend to decouple’ from China
- EU also restates its concerns about China’s positions on Russia, Taiwan and human rights
Leaders of the European Union’s member nations have agreed to pursue the trade bloc’s “de-risking” strategy in its dealings with China, and reduce critical dependencies in its supply chains.
At a summit in Brussels on Friday, the 27 EU leaders stated that it was important to “seek to ensure a level playing field, so that the trade and economic relationship is balanced, reciprocal and mutually beneficial between China and the European Union”.
But the statement also emphasised that the union “does not intend to decouple or to turn inward”.
Ahead of the summit, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said that de-risking would first require assessing how dependent the EU is on China and in what sectors, then cutting back that exposure so that – in case of geopolitical tensions – Europe is not left “high and dry”.
He said that the EU was trying to “move in lockstep” after previous experiences, “taking the lessons that we’ve learned rather painfully on our previous high energy dependence on Russia”.
