China asks EU president to get a better speechwriter – Reuters
Von der Leyen’s speech was contradictory and misleading, Beijing’s EU envoy says
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech ahead of her visit to China was incoherent, contradictory and misinterpreted Beijing’s policies and positions, Chinese Ambassador to the EU Fu Cong said on Friday. .
“I was a little disappointed” Fu said at the exit CGTN. “This speech contained a lot of false statements and misinterpretations of Chinese policies and positions. And I would say whoever wrote this speech for President von der Leyen does not really understand China, or deliberately misrepresented Chinese positions. .
Von der Leyen gave the impression of realizing the importance of engaging with China on the one hand, but of being “fearing criticism, especially from extremists in Europe and perhaps even the United States”, on the other, Fu added. Reading the speech, it seems “as if two people were arguing, so there is no consistency.”
“We hope that during her visit to China and her dialogue with Chinese leaders, she can better understand China,” he added. concludes the ambassador.
Von der Leyen is due to accompany French President Emmanuel Macron to Beijing next week, where they are expected to meet President Xi Jinping.
Speaking at the European Policy Center on Thursday, Von der Leyen said the EU must “stress test” And “derisk” its relations with Beijing, both political and economic, and argued that a “decoupling” of China was neither a viable strategy nor in the interests of the bloc. On the other hand, she argued that Brussels should be “bolder” in her approach to China, which she describes as becoming “more repressive at home and more assertive abroad.”
Von der Leyen also warned that the “decisive factor for the future of EU-China relations” how beijing will be “continues to interact with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war”, that is, the conflict in Ukraine.
China has insisted on neutrality in the conflict, condemned unilateral Western sanctions as illegitimate and offered a peace plan. The EU has fully supported the Kyiv government and provided it with billions of euros in weapons, ammunition, training and other equipment.
Wang Luton, director of European affairs at China’s foreign ministry, also commented on von der Leyen’s remarks. He tweeted on his personal account that the EU “talks a lot about harm reduction recently,” but actually creates a risk in “link trade to ideology and national security and create bloc confrontation.”
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