US-China Tensions Strain EU Diplomatic Efforts

The amped up coronavirus tensions between the U.S and China is making diplomacy difficult for the European Union, according to the EU's ambassador to China on Thursday.

The EU wants to work with China, perhaps because it needs to, President Donald Trump would like to, but said he does not need to, and ultimately wants China to pay for unleashing the global coronavirus pandemic on the world.

"We are seeing high levels of tensions – strategic, economic, political – growing day after day," Amb. Nicolas Chapuis told an online briefing, according to the South China Morning Press. "It is our opinion that these tensions are not conducive to the cooperative spirit we need today."

"I am convinced that the EU voice is today more than ever necessary. We are the core of multilateral solutions that need to be taken to mitigate the coronavirus crisis and prepare for economic recovery."

The EU and China are working on rescheduling a delayed bilateral summit to set the agenda before the leaders are scheduled to meet in September, per the report.

"The situation is difficult, but it does not mean that bilateral ties have been impacted," Chapuis added per SCMP. "We have new challenges to face together. We are trying to do [that] in a way that is responsible, cooperative and respectful of each other's concerns.

"China is in a unique position to alleviate the existing tensions, further its own economic reform agenda and find cooperative solutions to these concerns. Failing to do so will only encourage the already visible disruption of the supply chain, the decoupling of major economies and the rise of protectionism."

Among the goals of the summit: drafting a comprehensive agreement on investment (CAI) to be finalized in September between the EU and China's Xi Jinping.

"Both sides think this agreement is even more relevant now than before the pandemic," Chapuis said. "If concluded on time, [it] will be one of the keys to the global recovery.

"We need to agree on difficult issues, such as subsidies, level playing field and market access," he added. "What is lacking today is symmetry or reciprocity, and we need to rebalance our economic and trade relationship."

• Pompeo: US-China Trade Talks Still Open Despite Virus Impasse
• China Won't Permit Probe Short of 'Right Atmosphere'