Thread by @AMFChina

Former German Chancellor Gerhard 'Gazprom' Schroeder has done it again. In a new German-language op-ed for @handelsblatt he argues against a value-based European China policy. What follows is a critique of his simplistic analysis of EU-China relations /1

handelsblatt.com/meinung/gastbe…

He frames EU-China relations in opposition to the geopolitical rivalry between the US and China, which he likens to a new Cold War.

Schroeder argues for multipolarity, European sovereignty & demands that in future reforms EU member states renounce further sovereignty rights /2

When it comes to China he briefly mentions that Beijing has smashed Hong Kong's democracy movement and that religious and ethnic groups are being suppressed. He also recognises the expansionism in the South China Sea. Schroeder calls all of the above a 'controlled offensive' /3

Referring to the concept of the 'dual circulation' model, swift advances re IT/AI and China's encompassing political, military and economic strategy he only finds fault in the lack of transparency of China's administrative apparatus & the slow reaction to the Covid-19 outbreak /4

Yet Gerhard Schroeder's main concern is a different one. "German companies benefit from China's growth" is the first sub-header of his op-ed in @handelsblatt. He then highlights that by now German car manufacturers sell 40% of their production in China /5

Schroeders admiration of German car sales in China is immediately followed by a warning about Germany being sucked into a US-led trade war against China. He also criticises the Biden administration for framing the conflict with China as one between democracies and autocracies /6

Here Gerhard Schroeder rather conveniently omits that also in Europe more and more foreign policy makers have recognised the systemic challenge that a CCP-led China poses. While the US-China *great power rivalry* is real, so is the *systemic rivalry* between the EU and China /7

Schroeder subsequently talks about limits to what he calls a 'moralising foreign policy' without revealing its supposed limitations. He suggests that climate change, pandemics, or migration doesn't stop at national borders. He calls for joint efforts by the int'l community /8

With the help of this straw man Gerhard Schroeder tries to discredit the pursuit of moral or ethical objectives in EU foreign relations. He seems to have forgotten that European politicians have committed themselves to an ethical foreign policy with Lisbon Treaty Article 21 /9

Schroeder also takes Xi Jinping's fantastical pledge of going carbon neutral by 2060 at face value (that is in 39 years🙄). What he doesn't mention is the Chinese party-state's continued investment in coal-powered electricity, both at home and abroad /10 wired.com/story/china-is…

He goes on to praise 'dialogue & cooperation' and critiques sanctions, pressure or military means. How EU member states & their civil societies can forge a genuine open-ended dialogue with China under the conditions of #DocumentNo9 he doesn't tell /11 chinafile.com/document-9-chi…

And when it comes to EU-China economic cooperation - the issue Schroeder cares most about - he does not mention at all that the Party regularly flouts WTO rules. It is therefore rather baffling that he puts blind hope into the controversial #CAI /12

https://twitter.com/AMFChina/status/1353676542635859972?s=20

Gerhard Schroeder also rehashes the obsolete 'change through trade' mantra. To suggest that German car manufacturers enriching themselves by selling cars in China is helping with the country's liberalisation is an insult to our collective intelligence /13 change.org/p/politicians-…

Schroeder's op-ed in @handelsblatt reveals the thinking of a man who holds the position of chairman of the board of directors of the controversial #NordStream2 project. He epitomises all that is wrong with the old guard of Europe's establishment /End

dw.com/en/gerhard-sch…