Activities of Bas BELDER related to 2015/2003(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
EU-China relations (debate) NL
EU-China relations (debate) NL
Reports (1)
REPORT on EU-China relations PDF (189 KB) DOC (138 KB)
Amendments (32)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard to the EU-China Summit joint statement of 29 June 2015,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
– having regard to the EU-China joint statement on climate change of 29 June 2015,
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China; whereas the EU-China Strategic Partnership is of key importance to relations between the EU and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and to finding mutual answers to a range of global concerns, such as nuclear non- proliferation, cybersecurity, counter terrorism and climate change;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the establishment of the AIIB puts to the test not only European unity and cooperation but equally transatlantic cooperation;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas China is a major trading partner of the EU, with a huge and expanding market;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas, in the interests of national security, China has published three new draft laws this year which include provisions on cybersecurity and NGOs;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas in June 2015 the Hong Kong Legislative Council voted against a controversial proposal that would have let Hong Kong voters elect their Chief Executive, but only from a pool of candidates vetted by a pro-Beijing committee; whereas precisely this proposal sparked the 79-day pro- democracy Umbrella Movement of massive protests from late September till mid-December 2014;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
Na. whereas since 2005 China has extended credit valued at approximately USD 100 billion to Latin American States; whereas at present China is Brazil’s principal trading partner and the second largest for – by way of example – Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)
Recital O a (new)
Oa. whereas at the beginning of 2015 President Xi Jinping publicly announced his intention of extending the rule of law throughout the country, out of a conviction that effective justice is essential for a modern economy and society in China;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) states in its ‘Annual Working Conditions Report 2015’ that official harassment, obstruction and intimidation of foreign correspondents and their local staff remain serious problems;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China as a source of inspiration to strengthen the Strategic Partnership; expresses its support for the (bi)annual High Level dialogues and the more than 60 sectoral dialogues between the EU and China on a diverse array of issues; expects that these sectoral dialogues will lead to confidence-building and not end in conference-building;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the need for EU Member States to speak with one voice to the Chinese Government, particularly in view of Beijing’s present diplomatic dynamism; deplores the lack of profound debate and close coordination at EU level regarding Member States’ membership of the AIIB; urges the EU Institutions to prioritise trade and investment policy as the most obvious area to exert maximum leverage in the strategic relationship with China;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Considers it to be of vital importance that the European contribution to the participation in the AIIB should comprise: transparent procedures for the assessment of loans; clear standards relating to good governance, social responsibility and the environment; concern to ensure that the debt burden remains controllable for borrowing countries;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses that the European participants in the AIIB should constantly weigh up economic against political strategic interests; considers that, if European and Chinese interests run parallel, European countries can operate more autonomously, but stresses that, precisely where the interests of Europe and China diverge, European coordination is vital;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Observes that European trading countries benefit from the stabilising effects of the American presence in the Asian region, and that the EU and its Member States should therefore take this seriously into account strategically in their relations with China; calls for an in- depth transatlantic dialogue on a common policy towards China;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Is worried about the obstacles European businesses experience on the Chinese market, such as forced technology transfers, weak IPR enforcement and discriminatory treatment; underlines the importance of market reform in China, the implementation of market economy principles and elimination of discrimination and unjustified restrictions;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2e. Remarks that the inadequate response of the Chinese government to tumbling markets has severely tarnished its aura of economic competence at home and to the outside world;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines the Chinese interest in strategic infrastructure investments in Europe; concludes, with regard to Beijing's demand for ISDS procedures as an essential element of a BIT, that Brussels should reciprocally demand that provisions be included in the BIT that guarantee better access for and fairer treatment of EU companies on the Chinese market; underlines the increasing complaint of European companies that they are victims of capricious regulation and discrimination;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that the recent plunges on the stock markets in China have brought the government’s control culture face to face with the inherent volatility of the financial markets and thus present a direct challenge to President Xi Jinping’s axiom of ‘more market’;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Concludes that the threefold new legislation formulates China’s national security interests in so broad and vague a manner that these laws give the Chinese authorities virtually unrestricted powers to move against actions, persons or publications they disapprove of; notes the fears of Chinese reforming lawyers and civil rights defenders that the cybersecurity law will further restrict the freedom of expression and that self- censorship will grow; stresses the severe adverse impact of both the cybersecurity and NGO laws on the activities of European businesses and institutions in the People's Republic of China and therefore calls on the European Council and the Commission to continue to complain forcefully to the Chinese authorities against these highly controversial measures;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Observes that, although the targets of the anti-corruption campaign extend to the highest political level, these seem to be limited to the allies of President Xi's main rivals in the CPC; considers that this fierce ongoing anti-corruption campaign is, at the same time, serving to win back popular trust in the CPC, to discipline bureaucracy and to eliminate rivals inside the CPC; points to the paralysing effect of the anti- corruption campaign among whole fearful ministries and authorities;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Expresses its sympathy with the families and friends of the more than 145 victims of the devastating explosions in the port town of Tianjin on 12 August 2015; is shocked at the illegal storage of thousands of tonnes of highly toxic chemicals at the illegal distance of less than 600 m from residential areas; regards the slow and secretive official information policy concerning the Tianjin disaster as highly counter-productive, particularly in combination with the censorship of social media reports of this major tragedy; takes the view that the Chinese leadership can only begin to regain the trust of the residents of Tianjin who were hard hit by the disaster, and of foreign businesses and investors, by an open and thorough investigation into the causes of the disaster, by fair compensation measures and by properly enforced safety regulations;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the rapid ageing of the Chinese population poses significant risks to the country's prosperity and social stability(strong wage increases in industry) and social stability (dysfunctional and inadequate pension funds); notes that the government's policy measures to tackle the issue (gradual relaxation of the one-child policy) have not yet led to a significant rise in the birth rate, mainly for economic reasons; observes that the country's demographic dilemma leads to important initiatives to increase productivity and innovation by focusing more on practical vocational training;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the urgency of environmental protection measures, bearing in mind, for example, that in 2014 only eight out of 74 major cities reached the national standard of PM 2.5 air pollution concentrations and given the fact that in China 190 million people fall ill due to contaminated water yearly; warns that the double water crisis (massive pollution combined with increased water usage) could cause major political and social instability, not only domestically, but could also evoke conflicts with neighbouring states; welcomes the fact that under the new environmental protection law local cadres are accountable, also retroactively, for environmental damage caused during their tenure and that commitment to environmental protection is going to count stronger in the process of promotion of these local cadres;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Remarks that in 2017 Hong Kong's Chief Executive will again be chosen by a small committee largely loyal to the CPC, but questions the prevailing of the status quo in the long-term; considers that Hong Kong occupies the front line in China's struggle to modernise and that Hong Kong's development will test just how realistic Beijing's preference for control rather than Western-style modernity really is;
Amendment 361 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Welcomes peace plans such as the South China Sea Peace Initiative proposed by Taiwan's President Ma Ying- jeou on 26 May 2015 −a follow-up on his 2012 proposal of a similar peace plan for the East China Sea−, which calls on all parties concerned to shelve sovereignty disputes, exercise restraint, agree to resolve disputes peacefully, establish a code of conduct, respect the UN Charter and Convention on the Law of the Seas, and jointly develop resources; explicitly endorses the call of the Taiwanese South China Sea Peace Initiative upon all parties concerned to set up coordination and cooperation mechanisms for non- traditional security issues such as environmental protection, scientific research, maritime crime fighting, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief;
Amendment 367 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges the Chinese Government to use all its levers of influence to induce North Korea to return to credible denuclearisation talks and to take concrete steps to denuclearise, especially in view of the extensive diplomatic and military ties between North Korea and Iran, with Pyongyang helping supply the Iranians with ballistic-missile technology and hosting Iranian scientists at its nuclear tests;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Draweplores that China has blocked – together with Russia- four UNSC draft resolutions on Syria; remarks Beijing'’s attention towareness of the indispensable roleility of the US.S. and the EU with regard toEurope for China's moderniszation goals, given it regarding its cautious support for Putin against the West; urges the Council and the Commission to use China's modernization need by demanding Beijing to act as a responsible stakeholder in global politics, notably being a permanent member of the UN Security Council;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Notes that the asymmetry in trade relations between China and Latin America, with Beijing taking raw materials and supplying industrial products, is unlikely to change much in the near future and will thus not give much incentive to the modernisation of Latin America; asks the Council and Commission what effects this growing political and economic commitment by China in Latin America will have on European interests on this continent;
Amendment 405 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Notes that, in sharp contrast to the expressed intentions of President Xi Jinping of China to create a state based on the rule of law, from 10 July to early August raids took place in 19 provinces against civil rights advocates and their supporters, affecting 265 people, of whom 20 are still in custody or have even disappeared; strongly condemns the demonisation in the state media of the arrested civil rights advocates; calls on the Chinese authorities to acknowledge the rule of law in their actions and to implement in practice the international obligations on civil rights that they have accepted;
Amendment 453 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Supports strongly reciprocal freedom of the media between the EU and China, also given the growing importance of China in current affairs; urges all European Institutions to address the serious situation that working conditions for foreign correspondents in China "almost never meet international standards" according the FCCC;
Amendment 474 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Considers that both China and Taiwan are important economic partners of the EU in Asia and the Pacific; Advocates negotiating a bilateral investment agreement between the EU and Taiwan, given that Taiwan is, at regional level, the best gateway and springboard to China for EU businesses;