News and Views on Tibet

Biden administration puts pressure on EU over China deal

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter
Image Representational (Photo- Reuters)
Image Representational (Photo- Reuters)

By Choekyi Lhamo

DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 25: The European Union (EU) has come under mounting pressure from the US to slow down the major investment deal with China, reported Japan Times. National security advisor to the US President-elect Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday urging “early consultation with our European partners on our common concerns about China’s economic practices.” 

EU’s Comprehensive Agreement on Investment to open up China’s market would reward Beijing with preferential access to European markets despite crackdown in regions like Hong Kong to Xinjiang. The EU recently passed a resolution on Dec. 17 condemning China’s use of forced labour in Xinjiang. 

A German Social Democrat, Bernd Lange who chairs the European Parliament’s trade committee said that the fact that an agreement was near despite such concerns was “clearly worrying.” Lange tweeted, “Trade policy does not take place in a vacuum . . . How the question of forced labour is addressed will determine the agreement’s fate.”

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the investment deal during a working lunch on Monday with EU country ambassadors including the head of EU delegation in Beijing. In a statement, the EU noted progress in the ongoing talks and said that both sides are in “continuous contact to address outstanding issues.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday said, “There is no such thing as so-called forced labour in Xinjiang. The accusation is totally baseless. It smears and slanders against the Xinjiang region and the Chinese side.” Many European lawmakers and China analysts expressed concern that Europe may be prepared to brush aside labour issues in its push for a deal by the end of the year. 

China has only one official trade union that governs all industries. Wang said on Monday that talks are in the final stage, “We believe as long as both can accommodate the other side’s concerns and meet each other half way, we will be able to achieve the targets set by our leaders.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *