After the Sino-US economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur and the Busan meeting, the consensus between China and the United States on rare earth matters has been basically settled.

Under the premise that the U.S. fulfills its commitments, China has agreed to suspend the implementation of new rare earth regulations for one year.

This has made the European Union, which has been closely watching, urgently wonder: Can it also get a share of this "relaxation" benefit?

But reality gave the EU a cold shower.

On November 4, a report from Hong Kong's South China Morning Post revealed an embarrassing truth. After the White House released documents related to the Sino-U.S. consensus, the EU conducted an assessment and came to a somewhat embarrassing conclusion:

The statement by the U.S. about China suspending export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals does not include the EU industry.

In other words, according to the general view within the EU, the rare earth consensus reached through the Sino-U.S. economic and trade consultations seems to have excluded itself.

From joining the U.S. in raising pressure to now becoming a "bystander," this feeling of being ignored has undoubtedly plunged the EU into deeper anxiety.

As early as April this year, when China implemented export controls on medium and heavy rare earths and magnets, European companies had already felt the pain.

In October, after China introduced new regulations on rare earth exports, the EU was even more anxious, urgently pushing for negotiations with China, but never managed to correct its own attitude.

Recently, representatives from China and the EU held an "upgraded" dialogue on export controls.

However, based on the subsequent remarks by Olof Gullstrand, a spokesperson for the European Commission, this negotiation did not yield breakthrough results.

He only mentioned that China and the EU are still maintaining continuous communication across multiple dimensions, including the political level, while reiterating the EU's desire to obtain stable supply of rare earths and other critical raw materials from China.

This vague statement clearly indicates that China and the EU have not reached an agreement yet.

Compared to the relatively relaxed consensus achieved between China and the U.S. on rare earths, this sharp contrast seems to make the EU realize that:

In the game of key resources like rare earths, it is not the "dominant force."

But even so, the EU is still demanding that China "relaxes" on rare earths.

In fact, the EU has not lacked opportunities for dialogue, but has repeatedly missed the chance to take the initiative.

China has already spoken clearly: The essence of Sino-EU economic and trade relations is mutual complementarity and win-win cooperation.

China has always maintained an open attitude and is willing to properly handle differences through equal dialogue and consultation, but this is conditional upon the EU abandoning its practice of imposing restrictive measures at will and promoting bilateral economic and trade relations with a pragmatic cooperative attitude.

But disappointingly, the EU has not shown enough sincerity:

On one hand, it follows the U.S. in implementing technological blockades against China in areas such as chips, and on the other hand, it frequently raises red flags regarding the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, such as the recent Ansem Semiconductor incident.

The core of the Sino-U.S. consensus is "mutual benefit." In a certain sense, it can be said that the U.S. has given up some tariff and control space, while China has responded to its core concerns. However, the EU currently seems to have not shown real sincerity.

This "inconsistent" attitude will ultimately only leave it in a passive position where "it wants too much but can offer too little."

At the end of the day, the EU should first put aside its arrogance of "demanding from a superior position" and face the reality that "cooperation requires reciprocity."

For example, if the EU stops following the U.S. in technological blockades in the chip sector and genuinely protects the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, cooperation in areas like rare earths would naturally proceed more smoothly.

In summary, in the current global economic and trade landscape, no one can get preferential treatment by "complaining." Only "mutual benefit" through "returning favors" is the only way out. I hope the EU can understand this.

And in the confrontation between the two largest economies, the U.S. and China, if the EU continues to waver, trying to rely on the U.S. to "counterbalance China" while preserving its economic and trade interests with China, it may eventually end up losing both ends.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7568761675835326986/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and welcomes you to express your opinion by clicking on the 【top/down】 buttons below.