Emanuele Scimia

Opinion | How Beijing’s stance on Russia and its Taiwan threats are hurting goodwill in Europe

Beijing has worked hard to build a consensus in many European quarters but an anti-China front is now building in the EU that could bury its 16+1 initiative

The Czech Republic has called Taiwan ‘bullied’, Sweden may upgrade its office in Taipei and Beijing’s envoy to eastern Europe received a chilly reception on a recent visit

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China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, speaks during a Security Council briefing on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York on April 5. Photo: Xinhua

Emanuele Scimia

Published: 1:30am, 29 Apr 2022Updated: 2:30am, 29 Apr 2022

When Chinese vice foreign minister Le Yucheng met Russian ambassador Andrey Denisov last week, he hailed the Sino-Russian partnership with words that sounded positively eerie to those in Europe: “No matter how the international landscape may change, China will continue to strengthen strategic coordination with Russia for win-win cooperation.”

Beijing’s ambiguity towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its repeated threats about Taiwan are breaking apart the consensus China has worked hard to build in many European quarters. That is especially true for the China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries cooperation mechanism, a 16+1 grouping that includes 11 European Union members.

China remains the EU’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade surpassing €695 billion (US$740 billion) last year, but this should not be misconstrued: China’s not-so-veiled association with Russia is angering Europeans.

The case of the Czech Republic is a typical example. Following in EU institutions’ footsteps, the Czech government recently told Chinese diplomats there would be significant consequences if their country were to violate or circumvent Western sanctions against Russia.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský also emphasised that Europe should help “bullied” democracies such as Taiwan – a clear reference to China’s sovereign claims on the island.

This is a U-turn on the Czech Republic’s relationship with China. President Milos Zeman once wanted to turn his country into an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” for Chinese investment in Europe.