The leaders of the 27 countries talked behind closed doors about China strategies, but French President Macron was more active than anyone else, directly shouting that he would use the trade "nuclear option" to be tough. Is this wave of EU actions really going to tear up the face or bluff?
French President Macron
On October 23, local time, the atmosphere at the EU summit in Brussels was tense.
It was a meeting to discuss sanctions against Russia, but ultimately the focus was on China.
According to Bloomberg, during the door talks that day, Macron proposed in front of the leaders of all member states to use the Anti-Coercive Tools Act, which will take effect at the end of 2023, countering China's new rare earth export control regulations.
This bill is also regarded as the EU's "nuclear option" in the economic and trade field. Because its influence is too extensive, it will not be easily used.
Macron's eagerness to "offer suggestions" this time is actually a "throwing the pot" operation of the domestic mess
As president of France, his current days are pretty bad: the reform of the pension system promoted by 2027, the second term has barely achieved outcomes;
There are so few seats in the ruling coalition in the National Assembly that you have to look at the face of the opposition party if you want to push a policy; The poll support rate fell to a low of 17%, and the street protests never stopped.
French parliament
If internal affairs cannot be resolved, it has become Macron's usual tactic to lead conflicts to the outside world.
After all, rather than solving domestic people's livelihoods problems, shouting a few striking slogans against China is obviously easier to put a sense of presence within the EU.
More importantly, France’s pillar industries such as automotive and aviation depend on the Chinese market and rare earth resources.
It is impossible for Macron to be unaware that if the "trade nuclear option" is really used, the first to be injured will be European companies.
But he still insisted on doing it. To put it bluntly, it was a gamble-
With a seemingly tough gesture to stabilize the domestic political basic plate, as for the subsequent mess, of course there is the European Commission to fix.
European Leaders Meeting
And from a deeper perspective, the European Union's wave of tough operations against China can not be separated from the U.S. pushback.
Since May this year, American politicians have frequently gone to Europe to "blow the wind", using tariff exemptions as bait while threatening to attack European companies that cooperate with China, forcing the EU to choose sides between China and the United States.
The United States has a good calculation: as long as the EU and China are at loggerheads, the United States can take the opportunity to seize the European market and curb China's industrial upgrading.
The European Union jumped into this hole. It not only launched a countervailing investigation on electric vehicles against China, but also included 12 China entities in the 19th round of sanctions against RussiaThere are many large refineries and merchants.
But the EU itself is caught in a dilemma: on the one hand, more than 90% of rare earths depend on China. If supply is really cut off, Europe's electric vehicle and semiconductor industries will have to shut down;
On the other hand, China is an important trading partner of Europe, and sanctioning Chinese enterprises is equivalent to smashing one's own rice bowl.
Airbus needs Chinese market
Like the German automobile giant BMW, Volkswagen, the revenue share of the Chinese market remains at more than 20% over the past year, if it is to follow the EU hard, the loss is real gold and silver.
This contradiction of being held by the United States, and afraid of its own interests being damaged, is doomed to the EU's new trick against China can only be "large thunder, small rain."
Faced with the EU's bluff, China has long laid out the situation and accurately grasped the EU's weaknesses with every step.
At the diplomatic level, China took the initiative in advance.
Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao has long made it clear to the European side on the phone: Rare earth export control is a normal practice, and the approval channel has always been open for compliant EU companies.
This operation directly divided the EU camp, making those countries that rely on China's rare earths dare not easily follow Macron.
Communication at the Central European Trade Level
At the industrial level, China is also continuing to make efforts.
Not only has it consolidated the advantages of the global rare-earth industrial chain, but also accelerated the development and development of rare-earth recycling technologies, while deploying compliance production capacity overseas.
Even if the EU wanted to find alternative sources, it could not be achieved in the short term, after all, from exploration of mines to the construction of production lines, it takes at least 5 to 10 years.
In the final analysis, the United States wants to maintain its global hegemony by provoking contradictions between China and Europe;
Macron wants to divert domestic contradictions and consolidate his political position by being tough on China;
The EU, on the other hand, lost its strategic autonomy in the game of major powers and became a "pawn" of the United States.
But they have all overlooked one key: the core of China-EU economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win, and no one can do it alone in the confrontation.
China-EU Relations
At a time of global economic instability, unilateral sanctions and political manipulation are destined to fail.
Macron's eager proposal and the EU's bluff will eventually only become a farce on the geopolitical stage.
Only by abandoning camp confrontation and adhering to mutual benefit and win-win results can China-EU relations get back on track.