US, EU to Deepen Ties Countering ‘Growing List’ of Beijing’s Concerning Behaviors

The United States and European Union (EU) discussed a “growing list” of Beijing’s concerning behaviors during a caller circular of diplomatic talks connected China.

The 2 sides reiterated the value of a associated effort to uphold planetary rules and shared values, portion pledging “continuous and adjacent contacts,” according to a joint property release of some sides issued connected Dec. 2.

It came aft the 2nd high-level gathering of the U.S.-EU Dialogue connected China successful Washington earlier that day, co-chaired by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino.

Following the inaugural dialog successful May, the Dec. 2 speech signals progressively convergent views and deepened transatlantic agreed beforehand amid rising geopolitical tensions with Beijing.

The 2 elder diplomats expressed alarm implicit China’s actions “that are of concern” some astatine location and overseas, including ongoing quality rights abuses successful Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and violations of rule-based planetary order.

“Deputy Secretary Sherman and Secretary-General Sannino besides discussed the increasing database of China’s actions that are of concern, including those that breach planetary instrumentality and tally antagonistic to the shared values and interests of the United States and the EU,” the connection reads.

Sherman and Sannino expressed their readiness to antagonistic disinformation “sponsored oregon supported by China,” beef up economical and technological resilience; and support intelligence spot rights, captious infrastructure, and delicate technologies, implying multifaceted threats posed by China.

According to the associated release, the 2 “expressed beardown interest implicit China’s problematic and unilateral actions” successful the South and East China Seas and the Taiwan Strait, which undermine determination bid and person a nonstop information interaction connected some the United States and the EU.

“They further reaffirmed the value of upholding and promoting state of navigation and overflight successful accordance with planetary instrumentality arsenic reflected successful the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and discussed however to counteract risks successful the areas of strategical stableness and cybersecurity.”

Sherman and Sannino are owed to proceed China-related discussions with high-level consultations connected the Indo-Pacific connected the pursuing day.

U.S. President Joe Biden has stressed the value of moving intimately with allies successful pushing backmost against China’s increasing powerfulness and progressively assertive behaviour worldwide.

A U.S. authoritative briefing up of the talks said Washington and Brussels person “increasingly convergent” concerns astir China.

A time earlier, the EU stated it has rolled retired a $340 cardinal “Global Gateway” program to put successful planetary infrastructure projects done 2027. The determination would antagonistic China’s arguable Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s global infrastructure program that has been criticized arsenic a conveyance for expanding its geopolitical influence.

European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis has called 2021 “a breakthrough twelvemonth for EU–U.S. commercialized relations” successful an interrogation for the Reuters Next conference.

Last month, The United States, the EU, and Japan announced to renew a trilateral partnership to code challenges posed by the non-market policies and practices of 3rd countries.