The Spanish Prime Minister, who has recently returned from a visit to China, is said to have persuaded President Xi Jinping to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. China recently released a 12-point position document on the political resolution of the Ukraine conflict. In July, Spain will take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council.
Source: Politico
Handling relations with a developing and assertive China has proven difficult for all major powers. Europe is no exception, and it is in a difficult situation. The EU and China are deeply involved in bilateral commerce in goods and services worth more than $900 billion. Decoupling from China is thus out of the question for Europe.
China is an important element of the Indo-Pacific for the EU. Although the Quad states talk of an inclusive Indo-Pacific, the major theme of their narrative is the creation of some type of platform or conference to counteract the assertiveness of China in the Indo-Pacific.
While Russia has emerged as a key strategic issue, Moscow’s no bounds friendship with China has become a major source of anxiety for Brussels. The EU feels that the power balance between Russia and China has shifted because Beijing sees Putin’s vulnerability as an opportunity to expand its leverage over Russia. Both leaders would like China to use this leverage to put pressure on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.
Source: The Print
We must closely monitor the growing European approach to China because it is India’s biggest commercial partner as well as a vital geopolitical concern. Because the EU cannot economically decouple from China, it is attempting to build ‘de-risking’ methods. Despite strong transatlantic links, the EU is still attempting to keep its relations with China apart from US-China issues. The implementation of this policy will have ramifications for the Indo-Pacific narrative and European economic position in Asia. It may also have an impact on the burgeoning India-EU relationship.
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