China-EU Relations – Beijing’s View on Challenges and Opportunities - PREVIEW
In our sixth and last conversation of this series, Markus HERRMANN, Co-Founder and Managing Director, China Macro Group (CMG); (Advisory) Board Member stars and SCCC, Zurich, will be talking to FU Cong, Ambassador and Head of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union, Brussels.
In 2019, the EU laid out its revised policy stance vis-à-vis China, making clear that for the Union henceforth, China would be simultaneously a cooperation partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival “promoting alternative models of governance”. Since then, and further aggravated by how China’s position in the Ukraine war and the Zero Covid policy have been perceived in Europe, relations between Beijing and European capitals have become more complicated indeed. In the economic realms, the exploration of a comprehensive agreement on investment (CAI) between China and the EU was stalled after the European Council adopted sanctions against Chinese individuals and entities in Xinjiang on grounds of human rights violations, to which Chinese government retaliated resolutely.
Against this backdrop, it is noteworthy that in his first press conference in March and recent trip to Europe as China’s new State Councilor and Foreign Minister, Qin Gang struck a notably conciliatory tone. What are the current dynamics in the EU-China relations? What does Beijing think about the EU’s aspirations for “de-risking” and “strategic autonomy”? Is “green” tech the next frontier of competition?
About the speaker:
FU Cong is a career diplomat with extensive experience working in multilateral institutions and specifically in Europe. He spent many years working as a PRC representative to United Nations structures in Geneva and Vienna, holding positions of Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Disarmament Affairs, working over a decade on the topic of arms control including the role as Director-General of the Department of Arms Control back home in Beijing. As of December, 2022, he has been appointed to Brussels as Ambassador and Head of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union.
Kindly note: Ambassador FU Cong has agreed to record this webinar. His team will make it publicly available shortly after the session.
