Wang Yi says Czech Senate president will 'pay a heavy price for his visit to Taiwan
For the Chinese foreign minister, Miloš Vystrčil challenged 1.4 billion Chinese by violating the "one China principle". Chinese threats could create further disagreements with the EU, which is increasingly aligned with Washington. EU diplomatic chief describes China as a “new empire".
Paris (AsiaNews) - The President of the Czech Senate Miloš Vystrčil "will pay a heavy price" for his visit to Taiwan in violation of the "one China principle,” said today Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The Chinese official is currently on a European tour to renew relations between his country and the Old Continent amid the geopolitical conflict between Beijing and Washington.
The Czech leader headed a 90-member delegation that arrived yesterday in Taiwan where they will stay until 4 September.
Today Vystrčil attended the signing of a series of trade agreements between the two countries. In the coming days, he is scheduled to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and speak before the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament.
China is against this, since it represents an indirect recognition of what it considers a rebel province. Wang accused Vystrčil of "political opportunism".
For Beijing’s top diplomat, challenging the One China principle is tantamount to “making oneself the enemy of 1.4 billion Chinese people.”
According to Wang, the Chinese government and people will not tolerate such "open provocation" by the Czech Senate speaker and the anti-China forces behind him.
Wang's threats could however backfire and cause further disagreements with the European Union.
In fact, China has come into the crosshairs of Europeans for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, its crackdown in Hong Kong, its failure to adopt reforms and the risks associated with the use of Huawei's 5G technology.
Wang urged European countries not to be dragged into a new cold war by the US. Yesterday, during his visit to France, he explicitly asked Europe to jointly confront “extremist forces” in the United States pushing for decoupling, i.e. commercial, financial and technological separation between the two superpowers.
Despite Beijing's efforts, European governments and the EU are increasingly aligned with Washington's positions.
In two editorials published last weekend in France and Spain, the EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell described China as a "new empire". For analysts, this is a qualitative change in relations between Europe and China, defined last year as a "systemic rival".
According to Borrell, China is an “assertive”, “expansionist” and “authoritarian” state, systematically violating international and trading rules. For this reason, the EU must review its economic ties with the Asian giant before it is too late.
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