In the USA, they unexpectedly discovered that the European Union prefers an investment deal with China, rather than a struggle for “democracy”.
About this on Friday, May 29, writes the American edition of Politico.
The events unfolding in Hong Kong further increased the split of the transatlantic bloc, the media noted. So, while the Donald Trump administration threatens to bring down sanctions on China, the EU looks at the situation more objectively.
This time, EU leaders chose to take their own interests into account, namely a major investment agreement with China, which could be signed in September. As three European diplomats told the publication, EU negotiators do not even have the authority to add Hong Kong issues to the agenda of the investment transaction.
German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, in turn, recognized the existing differences between the EU and China, immediately noting that “fundamental differences should not be an argument against exchange, dialogue and cooperation”. She also focused on the fact that it was a “conflict between the US and China”, thus excluding the participation of Europe.
However, an investment deal is not the only thing that interests the EU, Politico continues. So, Hong Kong was recognized as the third most popular foreign direct investment destination from the European Union in 2017. Half of the 2,200 European companies in Hong Kong also use it as their regional headquarters. Moreover, the EU is Hong Kong’s second largest trading partner after China, and US policy is aimed specifically at escalating tensions in one of the world’s financial centers.
As News Front previously reported, Joshua Wong, the main instigator of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, working with Washington, called for the city to lose its special trade status. Now Washington is considering this scenario, although it will hit the Hong Kong economy, but not China.
Hong Kong Anti-Government Protests
In June 2019, mass rallies began in Hong Kong, accompanied by pogroms and clashes with the police. The official reason for the protests was the extradition bill. If adopted, Hong Kong would be able to detain and extradite persons wanted by Chinese security forces to Beijing.
The demonstrators were openly supported by Western countries, in particular the United States and Great Britain. The protests themselves continued even after the authorities refused to pass the law. The most absurd occasions were invented for the campaign. For example, at the end of August last year, radicals smashed subway stations allegedly because of poor quality of service, and also demolished smart lampposts that collect information about road traffic and the level of air pollution. The fact is that the protesters discerned in them a system of total surveillance by the authorities.
Shares in Hong Kong stopped amid the coronavirus pandemic and resumed in late April. A series of actions took place on May 1, and ten days later, riots broke out in Hong Kong with barricades and arson. Against this background, the Chinese government decided to introduce a law on national security in Hong Kong.
The document, among other things, criminalizes foreign interference and undermining state power in this administrative region of China. Thus, the implementation of anti-government activities is complicated here and the US State Department has already demanded that Beijing not to prevent Washington from interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong.
In an attempt to thwart the Chinese government, the radicals staged protests in the city for several days, accompanied by pogroms, arson, and clashes with the police. During this time, hundreds of violators were arrested, and one of the key American proteges in Hong Kong revealingly appealed to the United States to legislatively protect extremists acting for the interests of Washington.