Has China gambled away? G7 react to Beijing's tough course - agreement with Europe is also on hold

The G7 foreign ministers criticize human rights violations in China and demand entry of the UN into Xinjiang.

The controversial investment agreement between the EU and China is also on hold with immediate effect.

Munich / London / Brussels - Wednesday was not a good day for China.

At the end of their meeting in London, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries condemned the repression against the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region.

In their final declaration, they called on Beijing to allow the United Nations access to the region so that they could assess the situation.

The situation in Hong Kong is also addressed in the declaration: "We call on China and the Hong Kong government to end the targeted fight against rights and freedoms as well as democratic values." leaves.

Democracy versus dictatorship: system rivalry at the center of the G7 meeting

Democracies versus autocracies: This competition was the focus of the two-day meeting. Russia also got its fat away. In the final statement, the ministers accused the Moscow government of "malicious activities" to undermine the democratic systems of other states. They criticized “the systematic crackdown on opposition voices, human rights defenders, independent civil society and the media” and the imprisonment of the oppositionist Alexei Navalny. India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and South Africa - all of them democratically governed states - were also invited to the meeting. The G7 could become exactly the kind of alliance of democratic states that Beijing is determined to prevent.

China hit twice on Wednesday.

After a meeting of the EU Commission it became official that the much debated investment agreement CAI between the EU and China is on hold until further notice.

The Vice-President of the Commission Valdis Dombrovskis announced that he would “suspend” the ratification of the agreement in the European Parliament for the time being in view of the quarrels with China.

In view of mutual sanctions, the environment is "currently not favorable for ratification of the agreement," Dombrovskis told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.

China and EU: are relations facing redefinition?

The conflict escalated in March. At the time, the EU imposed sanctions on four party and regional representatives from Xinjiang Province for their actions against the Muslim Uyghur minority. In response to the EU sanctions, Beijing for its part imposed sanctions on EU politicians and scientists, including the chairman of the China delegation in the EU Parliament Reinhard Bütikofer and the CDU MEP Michael Gahler. At the latest, it was considered certain that the EU Parliament would not ratify CAI for the time being.

China's President Xi Jinping has “miscalculated” the sanctions against the EU, said the Green politician Bütikofer on Wednesday.

The EU-China policy is now "facing a redefinition".

Jörg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) also noted a "change of mood" in Europe, triggered by China's actions against Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang and the fact that China had failed to fulfill many promises to open the market.

China also underestimates concerns about human rights in Germany, for example, said Wuttke

Merkur.de

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China and EU: Investment agreement “in the fridge” - although it is still important to the EU

The CAI agreement, actively promoted by Chancellor Angela Merkel, aims to guarantee companies on both sides stable framework conditions for trade and investments in the other market. Merkel therefore defended the agreement “despite all the difficulties” as a “very important undertaking”. This was also emphasized by Dombrovskis on Wednesday after the commission meeting. The agreement is still important for the relationship between Brussels and Beijing. It is necessary to correct imbalances in market access. But: "We cannot ignore the larger context of relations between the EU and China," said Dombrovskis.

The chairman of the trade committee, Bernd Lange (SPD), sees CAI "in the fridge" because of China's excessive counter-sanctions. “Nobody will get that out of that quickly.” On the contrary. On Wednesday, the EU Commission passed a new draft law to protect European companies more strongly against takeovers by state-subsidized companies from abroad. In the event of large company mergers with such companies, Brussels should therefore be informed in the future - and could then prohibit takeovers or impose conditions. Similar rules are provided for the award of public contracts to foreign companies. "It is no secret that companies from abroad benefit in part from state support that would never be permitted in the EU," said Lange.The European Parliament and the Member States must approve the Commission's draft. Fundamental support has already come from Parliament.

(ck with dpa and AFP)