Speaker: Hilde VAUTMANS (Belgium — Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten)
Political group: Renew Europe Group
Date: 2021-09-14
Debate: A new EU-China strategy (debate)

  Hilde Vautmans,  rapporteur. – Madam President, let me first thank my colleagues for their good cooperation on the report. We stand here as a united parliament. United in our belief that we must put our naivety aside when dealing with China. A united parliament that is very clear in its rejection of the investment agreement, as long as our colleagues are sanctioned and human rights violations are ongoing in China.
In our report, we recognise that the rise of China will have an enormous impact on our way of life and Europe’s role in the world. We also warn that Europe is not prepared for this change because, until now, we have defined our relationship with China in terms of trade. 
Don’t get me wrong, China is indeed a very interesting trading partner, and it’s great for European business that many Chinese are now able to afford German cars, French wines and Italian fashion. But economic gains should not make us blind to the challenges that the Chinese Communist Party is posing to the liberal world order. 
The EU must be determined to defend our key values, and this requires a new and more assertive strategy. 
First, we must realise that China is too big to ignore. We cannot deal with climate change, terrorism and global security without working together with China. If you want to save our planet, China must be our partner in this field. That is why I fully disagree with those who plead for a complete decoupling between the West and China.
But let’s not be naive. China’s cherry-picking of the rules of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization must end. And China has to show that it means business on climate change; otherwise, the EU must introduce a border tax to offset the higher carbon emissions of Chinese products.
Second, the EU must step up its defence of human rights and the rule of law. The Communist regime tries to wipe out Uyghur heritage from Chinese soil. Hong Kong has been subject to one of the most brutal crackdowns we have seen in recent history. 
This repression is not limited to China. Chinese ‘Belt and Road’ money is pouring into Africa, the Western Balkans and Latin America. It is financing regimes and companies that trample on human rights. Reports of labour exploitation, land-grabbing, pollution and health issues are frequent. I call on our leaders to finally come up with a credible European alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative. We must support sustainable investments which do not exploit workers, which respect the environment and enhance good governance. 
And let us increase the pressure on China to stop its crackdown on Hong Kong. And, as I have already said a lot of times, and I will repeat it again, we need to stop importing cotton from the Xinjiang area because products from slave labour have no place in the European Union.
Third, the EU will clearly never be a match for China or the other world powers unless we get our act together. The disaster in Afghanistan has shown that we need a European army, a real foreign policy without national vetoes. It is also very clear to me that we need a European FBI and CIA to counter foreign threats.
China’s rise has only just begun. Some say Europe’s decline started a long time ago. Let’s prove them wrong and step up our ambitions. Let’s show that the time for naivety is over. Let’s make Europe fit for the future with a new strategy to deal with the rising dragon, combined with a strategy to make a fist on the world stage.