MESOP WATCH BACKGROUND: CHINESE SECRETS FROM BRUSSELS TODAY

5.10.2021 A Commission official: von der Leyen said to Biden “that on the EU side, there was no intention to decouple” from China. The same message we heard from both main candidates for the German chancellery, Scholz and Laschet, both have said: “no decoupling”.

CHINA: Tonight’s discussion will be the first time EU leaders officially discuss China in almost a year. More than two years after the EU labeled China a “systemic rival,” some are wondering if now is the time for a revisit.

What’s different: A myriad of things have changed since the label. For instance, Brussels signed a controversial investment pact with Beijing in December 2020, infuriating Washington. Just a few months after that, in March, the EU approved sanctions against Chinese officials involved in running Uyghur internment camps in Xinjiang, before China retaliated with its own sanctions on EU entities and MEPs.

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