Decoupling from China not an option for EU firms – Dombrovskis
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Decoupling from China is not an option for companies in the European Union, said EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis according to prepared remarks of a speech in Berlin on Tuesday.
“The EU should continue engaging with China with pragmatism and without naivety,” and focus more on diversification and better risk management, he was expected to say at an engineering conference.
Last month, a top European industry group warned that firms were losing confidence in China and that its standing as an investment destination was being eroded. The European Chamber of Commerce published the warnings in a paper it said had input from 1,800 member companies, which also contained 967 recommendations for China, the European Union and European companies related to doing business in the country.
The report, which touched on issues from Taiwan to trade, said, for example, that China should refrain from “erratic policy shifts”, deepen cooperation with the European Union and increase international flights.
The European Union should proactively engage with China and reject calls for disengagement, it added.
A “stark contrast” has emerged between China and the rest of the world over the past year, as other countries remain committed to globalisation while China continues to turn inward, the chamber’s president, Joerg Wuttke, told a media briefing.
