Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s weeklong working visit to Brussels, Berlin and Paris has shown, once again, that he is one of the world’s most well-versed international relations managers, considering his diplomatic skills and impact on global affairs.
While making comparisons is always a tough nut to crack, one might draw parallels between Wang and some of his outstanding predecessors on the international stage of diplomacy, such as Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, Klemens von Metternich, and Henry Kissinger.
Wang, 71, has been prominently involved in China’s foreign relations for over two decades, serving as ambassador to Japan (one of Beijing’s top ambassadorial posts for a range of reasons), foreign minister, and director of the Communist Party of China’s Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission.
He does what I, as a realist, would expect from any capable foreign minister of any country: to protect, defend, and promote its national interest in a resolute and purposeful but also polite and civilised way. The principled pursuit of the national interest should ultimately improve citizens’ lives.
Wang’s multi-nation trip began with meetings with the top brass of the EU and senior officials of Belgium, where the 27-member bloc is headquartered, early last week.
In his meeting with Wang, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who has been in his post since February this year, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to multiculturalism and support for a strong autonomous Europe.
De Wever raised a very important aspect of the European Union’s global role – its strategic autonomy or, rather, the lack of it. When I read the Xinhua dispatch about the Wang-De Wever meeting, I decided to re-read an interesting article about the issue by the Think Tank of the European Parliament (EP) released three years ago, entitled “EU Strategic Autonomy 2013-2023: From Concept to Capacity.”*
According to the article, “EU strategic autonomy (EU-SA) refers to the capacity of the EU to act autonomously – that is, without being dependent on other countries – in strategically important policy areas.”
I am quite sure that it is correct to say that the EU-SA (there seems to be an acronym for everything nowadays in order to gain credibility) aim is still a work in progress - if progress is the right word in this context. In fact, I have the impression that work on the EU’s strategic autonomy desideratum has been put on the backburner for various reasons, such as Brussels’s obvious incapacity to respond to the Ukraine and Gaza crises and Donald Trump’s return the White House and his tumultuous tariff policies in a reasonable and calm manner.
I suspect that even Trump didn’t believe his own ears when NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, told him on the sidelines of the recent summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation: “Daddy, you’re my Daddy.”
Considering that the memberships of the EU and NATO widely overlap (22 of the EU member states are members of NATO, which has 32 members), Rutte’s quirky remarks do not seem to bode well for the EU’s apparent desire to strengthen its strategic autonomy (I use the word “apparent” deliberately because I am not sure whether all EU members truly long for the supranational union’s strategic autonomy vis-à-vis the United States…).
Wang told his Belgian host that “together [China and the EU], they should serve as an ‘anchor of stability’ in the world and act as reliable and strong partners who support and empower each other.”
No doubt, the international community would benefit from a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the world’s largest trader of goods (China) and its largest trader of services (EU). China and the EU together represent 23 percent of the world population.
In his separate meetings with European Council President António Costa (a former Portuguese prime minister) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (a former German defence minister), both sides reaffirmed their support for multilateralism.
Both meetings took place in the run-up to the China-EU summit in Beijing on July 25-26, which will also mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the bloc and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Both sides established diplomatic ties on May 6, 1975.
In his meeting with Costa, Wang pointed out that China “has always supported European integration and is glad to see the EU enhance its strategic autonomy and play a greater role in the international arena.”
It is obvious that China regards the enhancement of the bloc’s strategic autonomy as an important element of its foreign policy strategy and approach towards the development of international relations.
Wang also told Costa that “the two sides should earnestly respect each other’s core interests, enhance understanding and mutual trust, and contribute to each other’s success.”
In his meeting with von der Leyen, who had revived her hard line on Beijing during last month’s G7 summit in Canada by accusing China of “coercion through export restrictions” on rare earths, Wang cool-headedly reminded her that “the more complex and challenging the international landscape becomes, the more China and the EU, as two great civilisations and major forces, need to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, assume responsibilities, and serve as forces of global stability and certainty.”
Wang also stated that China was ready to work with the EU to uphold their international positioning as partners.
Concerning the rare-earth question, Wang insisted at a joint press conference in Berlin on Thursday with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul that China’s rare earth element exports – critical materials for high-tech manufacturing – would not become a source of tension between China and its European trading partners.
Wang emphasised that it is China’s sovereign right to impose controls on rare earth exports. However, he stressed that China doesn’t see this issue as problematic in its relations with European partners.
“Rare earth elements are classified as dual-use items. Therefore, necessary export restrictions must be introduced,” Wang told reporters, noting that these materials can be used in both civilian and military applications.
In Brussels, Wang also held talks with the EU’s foreign relations chief Kaja Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, who has been in her current post since last December. Both co-chaired the 13th round of the China-EU High-level Strategic Dialogue on Wednesday. Wang said the two sides needed to properly handle their differences through dialogue within this framework, noting that China and the EU have no fundamental conflicts of interest but rather share extensive common interests.
The differences between China and the EU in history, culture, and values should not warrant rivalry, nor should their disagreements necessitate confrontation, Wang said, noting that while the EU currently faces various challenges, these have never originated – and will never come – from China, “whether in the past, present, or future”.
His remarks are a broad hint to all those in the EU alleging that China poses a threat to the bloc. Regrettably, the Yellow Peril colour metaphor, the unashamedly racist claim that China is an existential danger to the West, is still rearing its ugly head occasionally in Western Europe and North America.
Speaking ahead of the dialogue meeting, Kallas stated that China was not an adversary of the EU but asserted that, alluding to the Ukraine conflict, “on security our relationship is under increasing strain.”
Wang countered that regarding the Ukraine crisis, China’s position has been open and consistent, which includes promoting peace talks, not providing lethal weapons to parties in the conflict, and strictly controlling the export of dual-use articles, including drones.
In the German capital, Wang and Wadephul, who assumed office only in May, co-chaired the 8th round of the China-Germany Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy and Security. Wang described the dialogue as “comprehensive, pragmatic, candid, and constructive.”
However, he cautioned that “unilateralism, protectionism, and acts of power politics and bullying are posing serious challenges to the international community.”
As the world’s second- and third-largest economies, China and Germany should strengthen exchanges and deepen cooperation, Wang said. He outlined three objectives: consolidating the foundation of bilateral relations, upgrading the quality of bilateral cooperation, and practising multilateralism.
Wang pointed out that China and Germany are each other’s largest trading partners in their respective regions, with bilateral trade exceeding US$200 billion for nine consecutive years. He also underlined that trade with China supports one million jobs in Germany, while the Chinese market has attracted more than 5,000 German enterprises to invest and operate there.
Wang also said that “in the 21st century, we should not erect new barriers through tariffs, nor fuel division through ideological confrontation.”
Of course, we should not, especially as an export-dependent country like Germany, whose immense wealth creation for a country of a mere 84 million relies on its enterprises’ free trade and investment opportunities worldwide. Any dramatic economic downturn in Germany could provide fodder for extremist political forces - that’s how that evil moron Adolf Hitler came to power.
Wang waxed literary by pointing out that multipolarisation and globalisation “are like [China’s] Yangtze and [Germany’s] Rhine rivers, flowing forward relentlessly.”
Despite the severe economic challenges that it is currently facing, Germany remains Europe’s economic locomotive. It generated 24 percent of the EU’s GDP last year. France produced 16 percent of the bloc’s economic output in 2024.
China and the EU depend on each other, need each other, and consequently should cherish their relationship based on a realistic and pragmatic approach, instead of resorting to so-called “value-driven” foreign relations that are ineffective and unrealistic, ultimately undermining a nation’s core security and economic interests – the low-income strata potentially being the first victims of the “value-driven” foreign policy approach, apart from the virtually inevitable hypocrisy and mendacity involved.
Besides, I am convinced that in politics, values only make sense within their specific social, cultural, economic, and religious contexts – without these, they are just hot air. Moreover, the “value-driven” foreign policy approach can also be seen as the West’s attempt to foist its political values on the Global South. Colonial habits do, indeed, die hard.
I hope that the new German government will again pursue a foreign policy based on realism, pragmatism, and mutual respect. There’s no virtue in mounting the high horse of morality.
Wang emphasised that the China-Germany relationship has traditionally been characterised by mutual respect, “seeking common ground while reserving differences, and pursuing win-win cooperation.”
Realistically, he also underlined that, given the differences in history, culture, and social systems between China and Germany, it is natural that divergences exist, adding: “The key is to enhance understanding and mutual trust, and to view differences calmly and rationally.”
During his stay in Berlin, Wang also met with Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz, who pledged to work with China to uphold openness and mutual benefit, promote fair trade, and jointly address global crises and challenges.
Wang reassured Merz that due to the mature and successful relationship between the two countries, China-Germany ties are not targeted at, dependent on, or subject to any third party. “This is part of our sovereignty and also common practice internationally. By implementing these measures, we are fulfilling our international responsibility, which serves the interests of world peace and stability,” he stressed.
China appreciates the new German government’s constructive and pragmatic approach to advancing bilateral ties, Wang noted. He expressed confidence that the new German government will take a positive view of China’s development, adhere to a rational and pragmatic policy towards China, earnestly respect China’s core interests, support China in achieving national reunification – just as China unconditionally supported German reunification back then – and continue to strictly adhere to the one-China principle.
On the final stop of his European tour, Wang met separately with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and President Emmanuel Macron.
Wang told his French counterpart that “at a time when unilateral bullying adversely impacts the international order, China and France… should once again embrace their mission of the times, champion… multilateralism, safeguard the rules of free trade, and work together to take responsibility for world peace, contribute to global development, and promote human progress.”
Wang also pointed out that the two countries have established a “from the French farm to the Chinese dining table” whole-chain rapid coordination mechanism, demonstrating the high level of practical cooperation between the two sides. He also underlined that China and the EU have resolved the so-called “brandy issue” through friendly consultations, which has fully demonstrated the two sides’ capability to properly handle frictions.
According to Bloomberg, China imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy for five years, with duties of up to 34.9 percent, a measure that took effect this part Saturday. However, major cognac makers, including Rémy Cointreau, Pernod Ricard, and LVMH, are exempt from the duties after committing to keep their prices above minimum levels, the business newswire underlined, adding that the deal comes as a partial reprieve for the companies, which have seen cognac shipments to China plunge after Beijing imposed preliminary duties last year.
That’s exactly what China-EU relations should all be about – tackling practical issues in a calm, pragmatic, and reasonable way.
Macron told Wang that the French side looks forward to strengthening policy coordination with China on a wide range of matters, injecting more vitality into multilateralism, and preventing the world from falling into hegemonic conflicts and bloc confrontations.
Wrapping up my impressions of Wang’s successful EU tour last week, I would like to highlight two of his realistic and pragmatic pieces of advice that he gave his hosts during the trip - showing mutual respect, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and acknowledging that it is natural for divergences to exist, enhancing understanding and mutual trust, and viewing differences calmly and rationally.
I am certain that this is the right way forward in China-EU relations. The whole world would benefit from amiable, mutually beneficial ties between China and the 27-nation bloc.
I would like to add that all his hosts reaffirmed their firm commitment to the one-China policy. That’s good news, considering that there are political forces in the EU that support—directly or implicitly—Taiwan and Xinjiang separatist forces and seem keen to meddle in the upcoming Dalai Lama succession issue. In both cases, my personal advice to the EU and its member states is: Hands off!
Last but not least, I hope that the EU collectively and EU member states individually will be officially represented at the September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
According to historical records and research, approximately 20 million Chinese civilians and soldiers lost their lives during this barbaric conflict. Additionally, tens of millions were wounded, displaced, or suffered under Japanese occupation. The victims deserve international recognition of their suffering – and the EU and its member states should not stay away. Anything else would be indecent.
*https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2022)733589
– Harald Brüning
