information between the various EU institutions on meetings with Chinese
representatives on both the administrative and the political levels;
De-risking from China to ensure Europe’s open strategic autonomy
(aa) work closely towards fostering unity among the Member States’ approaches
towards China and strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy to ensure that Europe
is able to defend its values and economic interests, as well as the global rulesbased order;
(ab) work towards a renewed, assertive and coherent EU approach towards China that
shapes relations with the PRC in the interest of the EU as a whole and takes full
account of the challenges stemming from the PRC’s rise as a global actor and its
increasingly oppressive domestic policies, assertive foreign policy, use of
economic coercion as a means to reach its objectives, including towards Member
States, such as in the case of Lithuania, and the challenge this poses to
democracies around the world;
(ac) advance the European Union’s stated goal of de-risking trade flows with the PRC
to reinforce the EU’s open strategic autonomy without aiming to decouple or
turning inwards; highlight the importance of reciprocal and balanced trade
relations, whereby economic diplomacy addresses the structural shortcomings of
the Chinese market, such as a lack of data protection and forced technology
transfers, in order to improve fair conditions and market access for European
companies; address the risks created by China’s acquisition of critical
infrastructure in the Member States and in the EU neighbourhood; effectively
implement the tools to prevent sensitive technologies from being leaked and used
for military purposes, and raise awareness of China’s military-civil fusion
strategy;
(ad) swiftly implement, in this context, the European Economic Security Strategy to
foster economic resilience underpinned by a solid risk-assessment tool and make
better use of our existing trade instruments to minimise the detrimental effects of
de-risking on the European economy, deter China from engaging in unfair
practices and to ensure close alignment with like-minded partners around the
world, such as our transatlantic partners and partners in the Indo-Pacific;
(ae) work towards a more coordinated approach towards the protection of critical
infrastructure at EU level to limit control by China, countering acts of hybrid
tactics such as cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, surveillance of the
Chinese diaspora and espionage originating from China and taking place within
the European Union, thinking in terms of security beyond economic interests and
working with partners to ensure a global, open, free, stable and secure cyberspace,
and continue to counter malicious behaviour by enhancing cybersecurity; increase
resources for the EU and its Member States to defend against the PRC’s
cyberespionage activities against EU Member States and demand from China that
it stop these activities; work with NATO and like-minded partners to reduce the
risks of espionage and interference in critical infrastructure, in particular
infrastructure with a military function; call for the EU institutions to terminate any
research funding to Chinese companies active in the areas of critical and strategic
importance for the EU;