Major Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily recently reported that European leaders met on March 21 to synchronize their position towards China. This is the first time the EU countries have gathered to deal jointly with China at the top level. The European Union intended to list China as one of its competitors. Some French officials even commented that the traditional EU members’ “naive” attitude towards China is ending. According to a document that Reuters obtained called, “EU-China: A Strategic Outlook,” the EU identifies China as an economic competitor in search of a technological leadership position. China is also a “systemic rival” in terms of its governing model. The EU has been complaining about the EU’s economic openness versus China’s different operating model, which has been in existence for some time now. As the second largest economy in the world, China should no longer enjoy the status of a developing country. The EU got a wake-up call just recently on China’s One Belt One Road program. The EU realized that China is throwing investments and loans at some EU members in exchange for influence. The Eastern Europe democratization could face a failure in light of this divide-and-conquer strategy from China.
Source: Apple Daily, March 21, 2019
https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20190321/1537141/