EU's 'de-risking' bears hallmarks of 'decoupling'

Although the United States actively promotes a "de-risking" policy in relation to China, it was the European Union that first put forward the concept against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis with the aim of ending its reliance on Russia for oil and natural gas, as well as to provide itself with a cushion zone to shun the "decoupling" practices of the US, which Brussels thinks go too far.

However, as Washington tries to replace "decoupling" with "de-risking" in its China-containment strategy to avoid overstretching the EU and ease tensions with Beijing, more and more EU politicians and companies are slipping into the rhetoric trap of the US, as they no longer regard "de-risking" as an economic, industrial or technological necessity for security, but a political tool to suppress the development of ideological foes.

As such, with China being smeared by the US as a "threat" to Western "values", "de-risking" in the EU does not stress self-reliance in some key fields of technology and resources anymore, and it is not based on facts any longer either, but rather the EU is seeking to eliminate Chinese products, services, technologies and investments from the key market sectors as instructed by Washington.

True, the EU upholds certain strategic autonomy in the process, as its "de-risking" moves also include some targeting the US, particularly in green energy, digital services and artificial intelligence, in which the US' subsidies and monopoly cause wide concerns in Brussels.

But most of its "de-risking" measures are to decouple the EU's industry, economy and technology from those of China.

Although the EU claims it is doing so to prevent other parties from weaponizing these factors against the bloc in case of emergency, it is the EU that has taken the initiative to weaponize these factors first. Indeed, the EU remains a key partner of China. But the underlying logic of bilateral cooperation appears to be changing.

The EU is restructuring its industrial policy, focusing on raw materials, semiconductors, batteries, hydrogen energy, cloud computing and other fields to increase its own investment and reduce import dependence. It is a pity that Chinese investors and companies are mostly kept out of that process, simply because they come from China.

Many Western businesspeople say they feel pressured to fall in line with the "de-risking" drive, and they are adjusting their business strategy in China accordingly.

De-risking will therefore inevitably hurt the EU's interests in the long run.