Malta an 'accommodating mercantilist' in dealing with China
Malta belongs to a group of European Union countries called "Accommodating Mercantilists" when it comes to EU-China relations, according to a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations. The report, entitled A Power Audit Of EU-China Relations...
Malta belongs to a group of European Union countries called "Accommodating Mercantilists" when it comes to EU-China relations, according to a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
The report, entitled A Power Audit Of EU-China Relations says that the assumption these countries share is that good political relations with China will lead to commercial benefits. This group believes that economic considerations must dominate the relationship with China.
It also says that Malta has had close links with China since the 1970s, is described by Chinese and European interlocutors as a close ally of China, is keen to see the EU more mindful of China's sensitivities, it mainly pursues its interests with China bilaterally, has no domestic lobby on human rights and is in favour of lifting the arms embargo on China.
The European Council on Foreign Relations is a pan-European think-tank launched in October 2007. Its objective is to conduct research and promote informed debate across Europe on the development of a foreign policy based on coherent and effective European values. The overall message of this report on China and the EU is that Europe's approach to this communist giant is stuck in the past.
"The EU's China strategy is based on an anachronistic belief that China, under the influence of European engagement, will liberalise the economy, improve the rule of law and democratise its politics. Yet, China's foreign and domestic policy has evolved in a way that has paid little heed to European values, and today Beijing regularly contravenes or even undermines them," the report says.
Most of the EU members belong to the Accommodating Mercantilists group in their dealings with China. This group consists of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Under President Jacques Chirac France fell squarely into this group but under President Nicolas Sarkozy "the country's propensity for sudden swings between political support for China and criticism of China over human rights, Taiwan or Tibet make it an unpredictable partner, both for China as well as for other member states," the report says.
It says these countries see anti-dumping measures as a useful tool and oppose awarding China market economy status.
"They compensate for their readiness to resort to protectionist measures by shunning confrontation with China on political questions. The Accommodating Mercantilists' refusal to bring pressure to bear on Beijing on political issues weakens a key component of the EU's China policy: these countries have often kept the EU from developing a more assertive stance on issues like Tibet or human rights. At the extremes, some effectively act as proxies for China in the EU," the report says.
The second group, the "Assertive Industrialists" is made up of the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. These, according to the report, are the only EU member states willing to stand up to China vigorously on both political and economic issues. This group does not agree that market forces should shape the nature of the EU-China relationship. They stand ready to pressure China with sector-specific demands, to support protective "anti-dumping" measures against unfairly subsidised Chinese goods or to threaten other trade actions.
A third group of EU countries is known as the "Ideological Free-Thinkers" - Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK - and these are mostly ready to pressure China on politics and are mostly opposed to restricting its trade.
"Their aversion to any form of trade management makes it very difficult for the EU to develop an intelligent and coherent response to China's carefully crafted, highly centralised, often aggressive trade policy. For these countries, free-trade ideology is an expression of economic interest: their economies and labour markets - oriented towards high technology and services, particularly finance - benefit, or expect to benefit, from Chinese growth rather than being threatened by cheap Chinese imports," the report says about this group of EU member states.
The last group of EU countries is called the "European Followers" and is made up of those member states which prefer to defer to the EU when managing their relationship with China. As such, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg are the most "European-spirited" of the four groups but they are followers rather than leaders, the report points out.
"Many of the European Followers do not consider their relationship with China to be central to their foreign policy. They rely on EU support to protect them from Chinese pressure on issues like Taiwan or Tibet.
"While their readiness to support EU policy is positive, their reluctance to participate more actively in the debate feeds the perception that China is not a key EU priority," it says.
The report says that with such divisions among EU member states, it is hardly surprising that China perceives the EU as disunited, adding that France, Germany and the UK carry particular responsibility for this situation.
"Time and again, each of these three has lobbied to become China's European partner of choice - even though Beijing only grants preferred status for a limited duration, offering its favours to the highest or most pliant bidder. Even during the recent clashes with China over meetings with the Dalai Lama, British, French and German leaders refused each other's support, in effect seeking to capitalise on each other's misfortune," the report says.
The report explains that whenever China has shifted its position as a result of European pressure, as it has on nuclear proliferation or to a lesser extent on Darfur, it has reacted to a coordinated effort, strongly backed by the EU as a whole as well as the most influential member states.
"Collectively as well as individually, EU member states will fail to get more from China unless they find ways to overcome their divisions and leverage their combined weight into a strengthened bargaining position," it says.
The report points out that China has learned to exploit the divisions among EU member states. It quotes a Chinese academic, Pan Wei, as saying: "The EU is weak, politically divided, and militarily non-influential. Economically, it's a giant, but we no longer fear it because we know that the EU needs China more than China needs the EU."
The report, entitled A Power Audit Of EU-China Relations says that the assumption these countries share is that good political relations with China will lead to commercial benefits. This group believes that economic considerations must dominate the relationship with China.
It also says that Malta has had close links with China since the 1970s, is described by Chinese and European interlocutors as a close ally of China, is keen to see the EU more mindful of China's sensitivities, it mainly pursues its interests with China bilaterally, has no domestic lobby on human rights and is in favour of lifting the arms embargo on China.
The European Council on Foreign Relations is a pan-European think-tank launched in October 2007. Its objective is to conduct research and promote informed debate across Europe on the development of a foreign policy based on coherent and effective European values. The overall message of this report on China and the EU is that Europe's approach to this communist giant is stuck in the past.
"The EU's China strategy is based on an anachronistic belief that China, under the influence of European engagement, will liberalise the economy, improve the rule of law and democratise its politics. Yet, China's foreign and domestic policy has evolved in a way that has paid little heed to European values, and today Beijing regularly contravenes or even undermines them," the report says.
Most of the EU members belong to the Accommodating Mercantilists group in their dealings with China. This group consists of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Under President Jacques Chirac France fell squarely into this group but under President Nicolas Sarkozy "the country's propensity for sudden swings between political support for China and criticism of China over human rights, Taiwan or Tibet make it an unpredictable partner, both for China as well as for other member states," the report says.
It says these countries see anti-dumping measures as a useful tool and oppose awarding China market economy status.
"They compensate for their readiness to resort to protectionist measures by shunning confrontation with China on political questions. The Accommodating Mercantilists' refusal to bring pressure to bear on Beijing on political issues weakens a key component of the EU's China policy: these countries have often kept the EU from developing a more assertive stance on issues like Tibet or human rights. At the extremes, some effectively act as proxies for China in the EU," the report says.
The second group, the "Assertive Industrialists" is made up of the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. These, according to the report, are the only EU member states willing to stand up to China vigorously on both political and economic issues. This group does not agree that market forces should shape the nature of the EU-China relationship. They stand ready to pressure China with sector-specific demands, to support protective "anti-dumping" measures against unfairly subsidised Chinese goods or to threaten other trade actions.
A third group of EU countries is known as the "Ideological Free-Thinkers" - Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK - and these are mostly ready to pressure China on politics and are mostly opposed to restricting its trade.
"Their aversion to any form of trade management makes it very difficult for the EU to develop an intelligent and coherent response to China's carefully crafted, highly centralised, often aggressive trade policy. For these countries, free-trade ideology is an expression of economic interest: their economies and labour markets - oriented towards high technology and services, particularly finance - benefit, or expect to benefit, from Chinese growth rather than being threatened by cheap Chinese imports," the report says about this group of EU member states.
The last group of EU countries is called the "European Followers" and is made up of those member states which prefer to defer to the EU when managing their relationship with China. As such, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg are the most "European-spirited" of the four groups but they are followers rather than leaders, the report points out.
"Many of the European Followers do not consider their relationship with China to be central to their foreign policy. They rely on EU support to protect them from Chinese pressure on issues like Taiwan or Tibet.
"While their readiness to support EU policy is positive, their reluctance to participate more actively in the debate feeds the perception that China is not a key EU priority," it says.
The report says that with such divisions among EU member states, it is hardly surprising that China perceives the EU as disunited, adding that France, Germany and the UK carry particular responsibility for this situation.
"Time and again, each of these three has lobbied to become China's European partner of choice - even though Beijing only grants preferred status for a limited duration, offering its favours to the highest or most pliant bidder. Even during the recent clashes with China over meetings with the Dalai Lama, British, French and German leaders refused each other's support, in effect seeking to capitalise on each other's misfortune," the report says.
The report explains that whenever China has shifted its position as a result of European pressure, as it has on nuclear proliferation or to a lesser extent on Darfur, it has reacted to a coordinated effort, strongly backed by the EU as a whole as well as the most influential member states.
"Collectively as well as individually, EU member states will fail to get more from China unless they find ways to overcome their divisions and leverage their combined weight into a strengthened bargaining position," it says.
The report points out that China has learned to exploit the divisions among EU member states. It quotes a Chinese academic, Pan Wei, as saying: "The EU is weak, politically divided, and militarily non-influential. Economically, it's a giant, but we no longer fear it because we know that the EU needs China more than China needs the EU."