EU leaders wanted to get tougher on China. Instead, they had a tough time just remaining consistent in their own remarks
European Union leaders wanted to get tougher on China. Instead, they had a tough time just remaining consistent in their own remarks.
"Systemic rival," von der Leyen said, referring to a 2019 EU strategic document on China. "That means there are two very different systems, very different views on values ... and in this category, of course, goes the topic of cybersecurity. We know that we have seen attacks ... cyberattacks in the past, as I said, on computing systems, on hospitals. And we know the origin of the cyberattacks, the same goes for disinformation.
The EU and China have made a custom of holding annual meetings, but this year's event was forced online by the coronavirus pandemic. Germany is still hoping to hold a high-profile event later this year to be attended by top Chinese officials and all 27 EU heads of state and government. "We must make progress," she said. "For this, the summit was only a starting point. Progress implies cooperation on both sides, implies reciprocity and implies trust."
She added, "In order to conclude the investment agreement, we would need in particular substantial commitments from China on the behavior of state-owned enterprises, transparency in subsidies, and transparency on the topic of forced technology transfers. And we have raised these issues at the same time with Premier Li and President Xi, that we expect that China will show the necessary level of ambition to conclude these negotiations by the end of this year.
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