EU-China Monthly Report: July 2020
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Monthly EU-China Report!
We have revised our format to help you to digest the key EU-China happenings and adjusted denomination of our reports. From now on you can find each story divided into five sections: a summary giving you an overview of what happened, facts and figures focused on key information, quotes from leading stakeholders, takeaways that put the story into a wider context, and finally a few recommended materials. If you want more details for the stories, you can click on the links in the "dig deeper" section at the bottom of the page. We hope that you will find this new format more practical and that it will encourage you to dive into the latest EU-China developments.
It was a very busy month. Tensions over the highly controversial Hong Kong national security law have brought 'systemic rivalry' back to the forefront of EU-China discussions. The leading force in championing this democratic agenda have been parliaments - including the European Parliament. As Beijing has decided to move forward with its legislation, the formation of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China and the EP's resolution on Hong Kong should not go unnoticed.
At the same time we can observe a trend of the EU moving towards economic and strategic securitization to counter what it sees as hostile moves by China Interestingly, in this context the EU may be increasingly open to pursuing cooperation with transatlantic and other democratic partners.
These developments culminated in the EU-China Summit, which have brought limited tangible results and was primarily used by the European side for communicating its dissatisfaction to Chinese partners/rivals. As the story of a European "My Way" towards China unfolds, the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union starting on July 1 will mark the beginning of a new chapter.
We hope that you will enjoy this report and encourage you to share it with your network.
Enjoy and stay safe!
Grzegorz Stec
Founder of EU-China Hub