2023-09-23 10:00:12
The vice-president of the European executive, Valdis Dombrovskis, in London, June 21, 2023. HANNAH MCKAY / REUTERS
Ursula von der Leyen had kept the secret: only her closest collaborators knew that the President of the European Commission would announce, during her speech on the State of the Union, on Wednesday September 13, the opening of an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric cars, which could result in an increase in customs duties on their import into Europe.
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The Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis, vice-president of the community executive, who was to go to China from Saturday September 23 to Tuesday September 26, and meet Monday September 25 with Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng, had to, in the process, rethink his shift. “For China, the anti-subsidy investigation on electric cars is the number one topic”concedes a senior European official.
This visit, which should be used to prepare for the European Union (EU)-China summit scheduled for the end of 2023, comes against a backdrop of growing tensions between the two actors and should “be very formal”, confides a source familiar with the matter. The arrival of Joe Biden at the White House in 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw China close down, and, even more so, the war in Ukraine have changed the situation.
In this new geopolitical context, the Europeans have moved closer to Washington, even if they deny wanting, like the United States, to isolate China. On March 30, a few days before accompanying Emmanuel Macron to Beijing, Ursula von der Leyen explained that the EU must “focus on risk reduction”that is to say on the mitigation of dependence on China, “and not on distancing”.
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“Beijing does not differentiate between risk reduction and distancing or protectionism. Dombrovskis’ trip must be an opportunity to explain what it is”notes a European source, who adds: “China has long sought to reduce risks with the EU, for example when it sets production targets for semiconductors by 2025.”
“Engage in dialogue”
One thing is certain: there is no shortage of areas of tension between Brussels and Beijing. “In recent months, we have watched the bullets fly by”, comments a senior European official. The Netherlands first announced new restrictions on exports of its semiconductor champion ASML on June 30. As a result, at the beginning of July, China decided that from August 1 it would subject its exports of gallium and germanium, essential to the manufacture of certain electronic chips, to an export visa. More recently, Berlin considered banning parts manufactured by Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks from 2026.
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