Slovakian official delegation visits Taiwan, continued changes in EU-China-Taiwan relations arouse concern-BBC News

Therefore, this high-profile visit to Taiwan by Slovakia has aroused concern from the outside world about whether the country’s relations with China will follow the Lithuanian model, leading to quiet changes in the triangular relationship between the EU and Taiwan and mainland China.

Former political adviser to the European Parliament, Dr. Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, who is currently engaged in research on EU-Taiwan relations in Taiwan, analyzed to the BBC Chinese that Slovakia has recently become more and more interested in Taiwan and must be viewed in a larger context.

Feng Rusha said that according to relevant information, the cumulative value of China’s foreign direct investment in Slovakia in the past 20 years (2000-2020) was only 200 million euros, making it one of the countries that received the least Chinese investment in EU countries. She told the BBC that under the “Central and Eastern European Countries-China Cooperation Mechanism” (16+1) initiated by Beijing, the amount is pitifully small. “The 16+1 framework promises a lot, but the completed investment is very small,” she said.

At the same time, investment in Taiwan from Foxconn companies like Terry Gou is increasing, and Slovakia is showing interest in strengthening cooperation. “Taiwan is currently the third largest East Asian investor in Slovakia, and cooperation in blockchain technology and space technology is also increasing,” she said.

The Berlin-based research think tank, Merics, also analyzed the newly released annual report on China-EU relations, saying that different departments and think tanks within the EU have different views on current EU-China relations, but they all agree that the EU needs a diversified strategy and Beijing has more policy tools to compete economically with Beijing.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Slovak delegation attended the “First Taiwan-Slovakia Inter-Ministry Economic Cooperation Consultation Meeting” on Monday (6th) and held meetings with Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Science and Technology. After that, the delegation will attend the investment forum and meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and others. This meeting is the return visit of the Slovak delegation after Gong Mingxin, chairman of the Development Committee of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan, led a delegation to visit Eastern Europe in October this year.

The delegation includes 18 high-level inter-ministerial officials from the Economic, Diplomatic, Innovation and Energy Bureau, Investment Bureau and National Academy of Sciences of the country, as well as representatives of 25 manufacturers recommended by the Sri Lankan government covering biotechnology, space and semiconductors. Attend the meeting.

So far, Beijing has not made a formal statement on Sri Lanka’s visit to Taiwan. However, as early as the end of October this year, when Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie visited Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian strongly criticized the Tsai Ing-wen’s government for “bringing on foreigners’ self-respect,” and said that China was determined to “relevant countries to condone’Taiwan independence separatists’”. Oppose it and require relevant countries to abide by the one-China principle and not provide a platform for secessionist activities for Taiwan independence.”

Many commentators believe that the warming of relations between Slovakia and Lithuania and Taiwan seems to be opening the first door for Taiwan to enter the core of EU diplomacy. Feng Rusha, who has long studied the relationship between Central and Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific, said that the Taiwanese business delegation visited Slovakia in October and signed 7 memorandums, including supply chain, trade, and smart cities. The Hsinchu Science Park, a major semiconductor center in Taiwan, also cooperates with the Slovakian authorities. Slovakia has a strong interest in cooperating with Taiwan to promote similar science and technology parks, especially since the investment promised in Beijing has been delayed.

However, Beijing’s countermeasures are gradually heating up.

For example, in addition to lowering its bilateral relations with Lithuania to the charge d’affaires level, according to a Reuters report, last week (December 3) Lithuania confirmed that China Customs had no longer included Lithuania in its “country of origin” list and ordered Goods from this country cannot be imported into China. The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda (Gitanas Nauseda) accordingly expressed regret to the outside world and said that he would not attend the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Feng Rusha said that China may continue to retaliate against the EU countries that are friendly to Taiwan. She believes that Beijing’s strategy is to show the Chinese people that its top leadership does not allow countries to be “disrespectful” to China.

Since the EU freezes the “Europe-China Agreement,” and EU countries such as Lithuania and Slovakia have closely interacted with Taiwan, the changes in the tripartite relationship between Europe, China and Taiwan have begun to attract international attention.

The Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) reported on December 4 that there are three major factors in the warming of the relationship between Europe and Taiwan: First, Europe’s alertness to Beijing is gradually increasing due to the Hong Kong and Xinjiang issues; the second is that certain countries in Central and Eastern Europe have become more vigilant against China. The anxiety about investment commitments along the Belt and Road; the last is the change in Europe’s view of Taiwan. For example, Taiwan’s position at the forefront of global semiconductor technology and its performance in COVID-19 prevention have made Europe look at Taiwan with admiration.

Feng Rusha analyzed that in Europe, there is now a popular saying that EU member states have the right to cooperate with Taiwan.

However, NHK also emphasized that China is the world‘s second largest economy after all, and its economic strength has a great impact on European countries. Whether the latter is willing to risk antagonism with China and expand diplomatic relations with Taiwan remains doubtful.

The Mokato Center’s report also pointed out that although the EU and major think tanks mostly support a multi-faceted response to China, there are still disagreements on which level should be taken first.

For example, in recent resolutions and reports, the European Parliament has increasingly advocated a tougher strategy against China, while also gradually exploring and expanding the possibility of dealing with Taiwan. But within the EU, the European Commission and the Council now seem to be inclined to “re-engage with China” to mend the bilateral relationship that has fallen into a trough due to the epidemic, and put climate issues and economic exchanges back on the agenda. The Mokato report specifically emphasized that this kind of differences between EU institutions has allowed Beijing to split the EU.

In the next step, when will the EU unfreeze the China-EU Investment Agreement (CAI), it will be a thermometer to measure changes in Sino-EU relations, the Mocator report said.