The leaders of India and Brazil were also present at the summit, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined on behalf of the EU. They also expressed concern about China’s economic influence. “Almost all the raw materials needed for the energy transition are in China’s hands,” says Ten Broeke. “Dozens of mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, are owned by Chinese companies.”
Twisted arms
Efforts have long been made to stop the export of high-tech goods to China. The agreements between the USA, Japan and the Netherlands have led, among other things, to restrictions on the export of the chip machine manufacturer ASML to China.
Partly because of this, the production of chips by the Taiwanese company TSMC has largely come to a halt. “That economic pressure could be a direct result of rising tensions, sort of like a new cold war between the US and China.” He thinks it is good that better arrangements are now being made in this regard.
De-risk
European countries are more cautious on economic policy towards China. Therefore, they do not choose to decouple China economically, but want to “de-risk” China. That is, they want to reduce the risks of being economically dependent on China. “If you remove the effect of inflation, you can see that the relationship between the US and China has deteriorated economically and financially,” says Ten Broeke.
Ultimately, the G7 countries can take the same kind of measures that we have seen above. “Since the Netherlands has listened to Biden’s request not to supply more chip machines to China, the Netherlands is very biased.”
Foreign Minister Hoekstra will visit China next week. He has a meeting with his Chinese colleague. They will talk about easy and difficult topics. It is the first time since the corona virus that a Dutch minister has traveled to China.