The real agenda of European Union (EU) head Von der Leyen, who just arrived in Beijing for talks with the Chinese leadership, as Berliner Zeitung notes, is that, in the future, not only Chinese investments within the EU, but also investments by EU companies in the People’s Republic of China should be subject to approval and could also be banned. She has in mind a complete decoupling from China (as demanded in the United States, though not practiced there). Instead, the EU Commission president declared that the rise of the People’s Republic had brought about a “decisive moment in world politics” that demanded from the EU “the common will” to “react in a united way.”
Among German companies these plans are met with protest, because the restrictions are already having an effect. Investments by companies from the People’s Republic have declined in the Federal Republic. But that is not enough for von der Leyen. As the EU Commission President announced, the EU is now also planning restrictions on investments by European companies in China. This, according to the official justification, is to prevent “EU know-how” from being used to “strengthen the military and intelligence capabilities of those who are also systemic rivals for us.” In reality, the goal is to at least slow, if not prevent, China’s development into a high-tech power by withholding technologies available in the West. Here, too, the EU is following Washington’s lead.
