Daily Times

In the backdrop of EU-China see-saw ties with recent friction on financial curbs over Xinjiang Cotton issue, Portugal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has drawn a balanced line when articulated that “EU needs China and China needs EU in all facets of oddity.

Given the geopolitical & geo-economic volatilities, PCCI called for new diversification into trade and businesses to ward off inevitable fallouts that come into play when White House sees change of command.

Advocating a “recipe of middle path” to help survive simultaneous relationship with US and China until EU achieves economic autonomy, Portugal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President Mr. Bruno Bobone has touted sensible maneuvering and statesmanship as surefire way to keep China and US in good connection.

PCCI seems to be one of few balanced voices that manifest sagacity as it is believed that zero sum game is never going to benefit any side.

When asked what does he suggests to both EU-China leaderships to avoid confrontation (Sanctions) to keep business environment unaffected, he came up with idea that to avoid further political confrontation, it is necessary for someone to yield. Or both. “I think the EU will never compromise on the issue of human rights. Their sanctioning measures in this regard may be different depending on the political moment,” he revealed.

Political tension between the EU and China seems to be escalating and this will always have an impact on the economy of the two blocs in the short term and as long as the political conflict is not resolved

“As an example, this last case, where, clearly, the influence of the new American President, Joe Biden, played a decisive role. The business environment, in such a globalized world, will always be vulnerable to very volatile geopolitics. That means, companies and national economies cannot simply wait for political tensions to disappear overnight. They have to adapt to the uncertainty that marks the current world, finding ways to diversify and finding new markets to prevent any eventuality. That is, the economies themselves will have to find solutions so that they are not affected by the volatility of international relations,” he added.

On the issue of impacts of latest political tension between EU-China towards pro COVID-19 business recovery activities in two trading blocks, he says that Political tension between the EU and China seems to be escalating and this will always have an impact on the economy of the two blocs in the short term and as long as the political conflict is not resolved.

Meanwhile, he said that political and diplomatic tension has always existed and will be inevitable in the future between the two blocs. “These are two very different worldviews that, at a certain point, will give rise to more or less deep tension and disagreements. In these moments, there is a choice that faces European leaders: what world do we want? Everyone knows that a choice of this complexity and magnitude carries risks and consequences. One of these risks, and perhaps the greatest, is the effects that a distance from Beijing has on the European economy,” he detailed.

“The European Union reached an investment agreement principle with China at the end of last year, after a few years of negotiation. During the past few years, the EU has been orphaned by the multilateralism and solidarity of its main ally: the USA. This may have motivated European leaders to focus on Beijing, moving towards this agreement principle. But the circumstances have changed. Now, there is a White House that Brussels can trust again. The choice is inevitable: either Washington or Beijing, with all the risks that this entails”

Further, he said that it is true that EU will need a firm economic policy to recover from this nightmare that is being the pandemic. “But we also need to safeguard certain values and principles that were structuring for the European construction and the model of society in which we live today. I believe that it is possible to maintain these structural values and, at the same time, rebuild our economy through multilateralism and international convergence,” he added

On a query of how does he see China-EU economic relations in future, he reveals that the relations between the two blocs will always depend on the geopolitics of the moment. He said that it will depend, in the case of the EU, on who occupies the White House, despite the current effort on the part of the EU to become economically autonomous, ultimately becoming a powerful economic and political bloc. But, he clarified that Europe needs China and China needs Europe. “In the meantime, and it will be for several years, I do not think that commercial relations are seriously undermined by political or diplomatic tensions. I predict that, in the future, and in line with Washington, the EU will help to prevent Beijing from expanding its influence around the world, without ever compromising its own economy. In other words, it will play a kind of double-agent role, in which it will continue to side with the USA in this “fight” against Beijing, without compromising its commercial relations with China, until it is economically autonomous,” he added.

Responding a question that Does he think Private Companies should involve into politics? Such as H&M comments, “H&M planning to stop using cotton from Xinjiang region” over human rights issue, he said that companies are free to act as they see fit. “If they conclude that there are certain values that are violated in a market in which they operate, deciding, therefore, to leave that same market, they do well. These are companies’ decisions, which also serve as an example to their customers, workers, and countries where they are present,” he concluded.

Muhammad Faisal is a senior journalist working for National and International mainstream media houses. With special interest on China-Portugal and China-EU trade ties, he writes opinion pieces on economy, diplomacy and international relations