Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he opposes reconsidering trade relations with China over its policies toward Hong Kong and its Uighur minority.
Rutte, whose country is among the EU countries most closely intertwined with Chinese production chains, said the EU should address those topics, but should not isolate countries that do not live up to European standards.
His comments in an interview feed into Europe’s reassessment of individual and collective relations with China triggered most immediately by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Photo: AP
Cutting ties with China would not “help anyone in Hong Kong or the Uighurs,” Rutte said in Brussels after an EU summit.
“This is one of the reasons I believe the EU should be more of a geopolitical powerhouse, that we have to develop our own policies toward China, in close connection with the US,” he said.
The Netherlands was the biggest importer of goods from China last year, according to EU data. China is the country’s third-biggest trade partner after neighbors Germany and Belgium.
Dutch-based chip machine builder ASML Holding NV plays a sensitive role in trade relations due to China’s reliance on ASML technology to build up its chipmaking industry. The company has not been granted an export license to ship its most advanced machines to China.
A trade dispute with China would have high costs for the Netherlands, a government economic analysis agency, the Central Planning Bureau, said last week.
Recent EU-Chinese contacts have reflected tensions in the relationship. After a summit in April, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the talks were “a dialogue of the deaf,” with China refusing to discuss the war in Ukraine, human rights or other issues between the two sides.
China has been accused of running a state-sponsored forced-labor program in Xinjiang under the guise of poverty alleviation efforts, sending as many as 1 million Uighurs to so-called re-education camps.
China has repeatedly denied mistreatment of Uighurs and says crackdowns in Hong Kong are to prevent insurrection.
Rutte said that he always addresses the issues with China, including the last time he spoke to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強).
Even so, he said: “You cannot close off relationships with countries which are not living up to our standards.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned