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EU labels China a 'long-term strategic security challenge'
🇨🇳 China /Economy & Trade

EU labels China a 'long-term strategic security challenge'

From South China Morning Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The European Union has adopted a new position paper labeling China a long-term strategic security challenge.
  • The paper accuses Beijing of amplifying security threats, enabling Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and threatening Indo-Pacific security.
  • This assessment will shape the EU's future policies on trade, technology, and supply chains, viewing dependence on China as both a commercial vulnerability and a security threat.

Europe's approach to China has become increasingly hawkish, with a new European Union position paper officially labeling Beijing a "critical long-term strategic challenge." Approved by foreign ministers on July 13, the document, "Common Understanding: The Threats and Challenges We Face," accuses China of amplifying security threats and reviving "sphere-of-influence logic" to reshape the global order.

a critical long-term strategic challenge

— European Union position paperDescribing China's posture in a new EU position paper.

The paper specifically points to China's role in enabling Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its "assertive behaviour" in the South China Sea as direct threats to European and Indo-Pacific security, stability, and prosperity. This hard-line stance builds upon the 2019 policy that simultaneously defined China as a partner, competitor, and systemic rival, but now elevates the security challenge above all other considerations.

reviving “sphere-of-influence logic” to reshape the global order

— European Union position paperAccusing Beijing of geopolitical maneuvering in the new EU document.

This new assessment comes despite recent affirmations of "de-risking, not decoupling" as EU policy and descriptions of the relationship as a "stable and balanced key trading partnership." The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas indicated that this position paper will inform the forthcoming European Security Strategy, integrating defense, energy, and supply chain considerations. Consequently, it is expected to heavily influence the EU's policies on investment screening, export controls, procurement, industrial support, technology, trade restrictions, and supply chain exposure, framing dependence on Beijing as a significant security vulnerability.

enabler of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

— European Union position paperDetailing China's alleged role in the conflict in the EU paper.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by South China Morning Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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