In our third conversation of this series, Markus HERRMANN, Co-Founder and Managing Director, China Macro Group (CMG); (Advisory) Board Member stars and SCCC, Zurich, will be talking to FU Cong, Ambassador and Head of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union, Brussels, Belgium.

In 2019, the EU laid out its revised policy stance vis-à-vis China, making clear that for the Union henceforth, China would be simultaneously a cooperation partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival “promoting alternative models of governance”. Since then, and further aggravated by how China’s position in the Ukraine war and the Zero Covid policy have been perceived in Europe, relations between Beijing and European capitals have become more complicated indeed. In the economic realms, the exploration of a comprehensive agreement on investment (CAI) between China and the EU was stalled after the European Council adopted sanctions against Chinese individuals and entities in Xinjiang on grounds of human rights violations, to which Chinese government retaliated resolutely.

Against this backdrop, it is noteworthy that former Chinese Foreign Minister and new Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, struck a notably conciliatory tone at the Munich Security Conference in February 2023. What guidance did the recently concluded “Two Sessions” provide for China’s foreign policy moving forward? What are the current dynamics in the EU-China relations? What does Beijing think about the EU’s aspirations for “strategic autonomy”? Is “green” tech the next frontier of competition?

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