Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


EU-China Summit Has Some Germans Rethinking Relations With Beijing

Natalie Liu

   WASHINGTON - A high-profile virtual summit among Chinese and EU leaders
   this week has spurred some influential Europeans to rethink their
   continent's relationship with Beijing, and especially whether economic
   considerations have been overemphasized at the expense of human rights.

   Monday's digital get-together -- led by Chinese President Xi Jinping
   and German Chancellor and current EU President Angela Merkel --
   concluded with several vague commitments to "enhance mutual trust, seek
   mutual benefits on a win-win basis and uphold multilateralism,"
   according to China's Xinhua news agency.

   But German politicians and news organizations were asking hard
   questions about Europe's relationship with China even before the start
   of the talks, which had been planned pre-pandemic as a gala affair in
   the German city of Leipzig. The summit also included European Council
   President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der
   Leyen.

   "How do we position ourselves towards #China? Is China only a huge
   market or do we as the EU want to play a role in shaping the world
   order?" Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag foreign affairs
   committee, asked in a tweet hours before the meeting began.

     Today the [1]#EUChinaSummit takes place. At its centre sits the
     question: How do we position ourselves towards [2]#China? Is China
     only a huge market or do we as the EU want to play a role in shaping
     the world order? Most important signal towards China would be: We
     won't be divided.
     -- Norbert Röttgen (@n_roettgen) [3]September 14, 2020

   "Did Germany get too friendly with China?" headlined a [4]feature story
   published by Deutsche Welle.

   While there is a growing consensus in the United States that the policy
   of "engagement" with China has largely failed, the question is still
   intensely debated in Germany. Calls for soul-searching -- in some cases
   even a complete overhaul of status quo -- appear to be getting louder.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/hashtag/EUChinaSummit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://twitter.com/hashtag/China?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://twitter.com/n_roettgen/status/1305405888656822272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   4. https://www.dw.com/en/did-germany-get-too-friendly-with-china/av-54918223

.