It is no hidden feature that China stands isolated in the world, and with its bleeding economy, Beijing cannot sustain its highhanded and aggressive attitude. Now, the biggest apologist for Communist China, Angela Merkel is moving out of Beijing’s hand too and in together with her taking Europe out as well. China has gone out of its way to woo the European Union, with Xi Jinping dialling Angela Merkel to request to not close EU markets to China and also vowed to reach a deal with EU to give it more market access in China.
The call was followed by China’s ambassador to the European Union, Zhang Ming’s statement, “We made breakthroughs on the level playing field issues, this is a solid step forward. We are now working on the Market Access and Sustainable Development chapters.”
These statements from a diplomat based offshore, are a pleasant transition from the wolf warrior diplomacy. It is signalling the fact that China is desperate for a truce with the European Union, given it has taken on more than it can chew. One can only challenge some countries at a time, and China had taken on the whole world.
This last-minute desperate measure comes, as it was becoming all the more certain that the EU is looking for options so that it is no more dependent on China to the level it is today. The recent visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and how disastrous it was is the best scale to judge the current relations. Every country he visited, during his Europe tour, had questions about human rights abuses in the autonomous regions of China, be it Outer Mongolia, Tibet or Xinjiang as well as Hong Kong. All the countries pushed the buck to the maximum limit possible and did not leave him without giving loud preaching. The tour was an immense failure and from then on China was told by actions that the EU was ready to counter Chinese belligerence and would not be swayed the partial access to the market, which Beijing has leveraged so far.
Read more: Wang Yi – Xi Jinping’s chosen man to get his share of global shame, infamy and humiliation
The President of Communist China, XI Jinping, during his phone call with Angela Merkel, said “We hope that Germany and the European Union will remain open to Chinese companies,” adding “China and the EU should strive to be mutually respectful and grasp the main themes of dialogue and win-win cooperation.”
This must be the most direct request Chinese leader has made to any specific country and organisation, which tells us the importance EU holds in the Chinese business and trade calculations. With the EU member nations shedding Huawei 5G networks and equipment as part of the US effort to promote clean technology has hit China really hard and the fact that EU is becoming more and more jittery regarding the ever-extending trade talks to open up China more for trade with the European Union.
With the increasing possibility of Joe Biden becoming the next President of United States, the European Union is ready to work with a like-minded liberal internationalist to counter the increasing assertiveness of the Chinese and the perceived axis of the evil they are building.
The promises by China should not be taken at face value. It has often been proven that China says something and does the exact opposite of it. The promise of opening up of China further and reaching a deal with their EU counterparts could well be the carrot and stick strategy that they have been employing till now. However, how many times the EU will be fooled by the same strategy? Now the member countries have well understood the Modus Operandi of Beijing and will most likely not fall for the same trick this time, but what happens next; only time will tell.
