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For traders, it is worthwhile to offer the right credit together with the product. Car dealerships and electronics stores have been doing it this way for a long time. China AG is now using this business model to sell the construction of an entire metropolis for six million inhabitants with a parliament building and presidential palace. In Egypt, Chinese companies are building a new capital – paid for with Silk Road loans. What about the Danaans?
The CAI investment agreement is once again causing nervousness. The parliament in Brussels is showing a united front against Beijing’s strong-arming. And although associations and foundations are not actually part of the treaty, the German Engineering Federation, VDMA, fears being affected by disadvantages. This is remarkable because Germany really wanted the treaty with China: to secure better conditions in China for precisely such industries.
The Chinese Communist Party was founded on July 23, 1921. The comrades traditionally celebrate their anniversary on July 1 – and this time, on the occasion of the great centenary, especially lavishly. We’re highlighting various aspects of this remarkable party in a series to mark the occasion. Today, Johnny Erling kicks things off by giving us a guide to reading the CP’s official historiography . This focuses – of course – on Xi Jinping, who occupies much more space in it than Mao or Deng. Like the Vatican, the party presents itself as virtually infallible, including glossing over the disasters of its past.
Finn Mayer-Kuckuk
Feature
European Parliament formally freezes CAI
The timetable was ambitious: After the political agreement on the EU-China Investment Agreement(CAI) at the end of December, Brussels had targeted its ratification for spring 2022. Now things are burning on several fronts. As expected, the European Parliament stopped work on the agreement on Thursday. The reason is the sanctions from Beijing. The MEPs passed a resolution on the matter that was quite a challenge. In it, they demanded the withdrawal of the punitive measures. Although such resolutions are not legally binding, they reflect the positions of the EU Parliament. It has the right to vote on this matter. The resolution received a broad majority: 599 MEPs voted in favour, 30 against, 58 abstained. The most important statements at a glance:
- CAI: Any consideration of the investment agreement and any discussion of ratification by the European Parliament has been “rightly frozen” because of Chinese punitive measures, the paper says. The EU parliamentarians call on China to lift the sanctions before the European Parliament considers the CAI. However, they say the withdrawal of sanctions does not guarantee ratification of the agreement. But the resolution does not say that the end of sanctions is a firm and non-negotiable precondition for further work on the agreement. This is an important point. Extreme demands have been defused here.
- Support for those affected: In the resolution, the EU Parliament stands united behind the politicians, scientists, committees and think tanks affected by the sanctions. This includes the German think tank Merics.
- Call on EU leaders: The EU Council and Commission Presidents are urged to “make a clear statement that China’s sanctions against elected politicians will not be tolerated”.
- Forced labour and supply chains: The EU Parliament calls “for the Commission and the European External Action Service to swiftly conclude a business advisory on supply chains with guidance for companies on the risk of using Uighur forced labour and to provide assistance in urgently identifying alternative sources of supply.”
- Xinjiang: The EU Parliament reiterated its position “that violations in Xinjiang constitute crimes against humanity ” and called on the EU Commission, the EU Council and member states to use especially economic opportunities as leverage “to convince the Chinese government to close the camps and end all human rights violations in Xinjiang and other places like Tibet”.
- Hong Kong and the EU Council: MEPs regret the “lack of unity” within the EU Council on positions on the situation in Hong Kong. They call on EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell to propose “conclusions” on Hong Kong. EU statements on electoral reform in Hong Kong had failed several times recently because of a blockade by Hungary. Now the idea of dispensing with unanimous decisions here is emerging. The EU Parliament also called for a suspension of the member states’ extradition treaties with China.
No solution through Beijing’s Peace Offer
Parliamentarians have thus put up a cross-party front against Beijing’s strong-arming. “The signal from the European Parliament is clear. The CAI negotiations will be frozen and remain in the fridge until the Chinese side moves,” FDP European politician Moritz Körner told China.Table.“With its sanctions, China has miscalculated. The Chinese leadership should learn from its mistakes and rethink,” said the chairman of the EU Parliament’s China delegation, Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens), on the vote.
EU Parliament circles consider it rather unlikely that the position of the European Parliament will change in the near future. A potential“peace offer” from the Chinese side, in which the sanctions are not withdrawn but simply not implemented, would therefore also have no effect. According to observers, however, there is currently no sign that Beijing might consider publicly dropping the sanctions – the stalemate remains.
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