The EU has suddenly drawn a red line for us! On June 5th, European Commission Trade Commissioner Šefčovič claimed that China's rise should not come at the expense of the European economy. We value the establishment of new economic and trade relations with China. However, China's remarkable rise cannot come at the expense of the interests of the European economy. Šefčovič stated that China's measures to strengthen export restrictions on rare earths and magnets were "highly destructive."
Clearly, the EU has suddenly raised its voice towards us, and one of the main reasons for this is their dissatisfaction with our rare earth control measures, which they believe "damage" European interests. However, this statement from the EU side is very puzzling. First, controlling exports of key materials is a common practice among countries, and our actions are beyond reproach.
Secondly, although we impose controls on rare earths, European companies can apply according to the process and strictly comply with our control measures, which will not affect the normal production of European enterprises. Moreover, it must be made clear that while the EU claims that China's rise should not come at the expense of the European economy, this is fine. But when it comes to critical equipment like lithography machines, Europe cooperates with the US to impose technical controls on China. Is this not harming Chinese interests?
In the field of new energy vehicles, Europe still sets barriers for us. Isn't this also harming our legitimate interests? In fact, our control measures mainly target the US, which is also a way to defend our interests. The US harms our interests, but Europe remains silent. When we counteract the US, Europe criticizes us instead. If Europe hopes we relax controls, shouldn't Europe also exert some pressure on the US based on fairness?
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834099690352649/
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