THE WEEK THAT WAS... (June 10, 2013)

After his somewhat unwieldy approach to the hyper-sensitive relationship with its former colony, the then Belgian foreign minister, Karel de Gucht, became persona non grata in Congo. Now he is trade commissioner will De Gucht soon be equally persona non grata in China? Last week, after he imposed duties on solar panels imported from China, Beijing hit back by launching an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation against European wine. And rumour has it that the Chinese government is considering extending the trade war to luxury cars and luxury goods from Europe.

As usual, EU member states are divided over De Gucht’s decision. Even before he acted, Chinese premier Li had secured the backing of Angela Merkel and another 17 out of the 27 members including the UK, The Netherlands and Sweden, who added their voices against the commission’s action. The Chinese know that Europe is divided over trade issues and typically go around the European Commission directly to the member states; for China, Germany is the real leader of Europe. “Despite clear opposition from a majority of member countries, the trade commissioner stirred up trouble in such a complicated and sensitive issue. That is abnormal’’, wrote People’s Daily, the newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. It also warns that China “has plenty of cards to play”.

But there is more than trade at stake. Last week China warned the EU that its failure to recognise China’s power will seriously damage their relationship. ‘The change of the times and the shifts of power have failed to change the condescending attitude of some Europeans’, wrote the same newspaper. It is clear that China is no longer the country it was in the past; Beijing is positioning itself as an equal to the US and superior to the EU. Chinese president Xi Jinping has expressed the hope that his country and the US can move to a ‘new type of great power relationship’. It looks like that his meeting with US President Obama last weekend was a substantial step in that direction.

Let’s hope that De Gucht backs down on his initiative, to avoid further escalation of a war which the EU is not able to win.