Before Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, visits Europe in early May, the U.S. State Department has set up an 8-person special group to counter China’s economic coercion against other countries.
Experts analyze that Xi Jinping intends to use economic means to divide the relationship between the United States and Europe, with economic coercion being a common tactic used by the Chinese Communist Party. The United States has provided a way to respond.
On April 29, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Xi Jinping will visit Europe from May 5 to 10, marking his first visit to Europe in five years since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Xi Jinping’s visit comes at a time when trade tensions between Europe and China are escalating, with the European Union launching a series of investigations into countries suspected of assisting Chinese companies in weakening European competitors through subsidies.
The three countries Xi Jinping will visit are France, Hungary, and Serbia. France values trade with China and is considered a weak link within the European Union. Hungary is the most friendly country towards China in the EU, while Serbia is referred to as a close friend of China. The Hungarian Prime Minister Orban and the Serbian President Vucic were among the few European leaders who attended the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last October.
Rong-wei Lai said, “Why is Xi Jinping visiting these three countries? It aims to create so-called discord and disunity among European countries, even intending to cause differences between Europe and the United States. Then, to dismantle what the United States has in place to contain China.”
“The CCP wants to unite secondary enemies to combat the main enemy. They want to divide the relationship between Europe and the United States.”
He stated that economic coercion is a common tactic employed by the CCP, and Xi Jinping plans to resort to his old trick of economic coercion.
Coincidentally, as the news of Xi’s visit to Europe was announced, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. State Department established an 8-person group to assist countries in dealing with China’s economic coercion, which has already received consultations from over ten countries on how to prepare for or mitigate economic pressure from China.
Germany recently arrested four suspected spies working for China within a week. The German intelligence agency has issued warnings to German companies, urging them not to overly rely on China naively.
Taiwan Inspiration Association (TIA) CEO Rong-wei Lai stated, “A series of actions indicate that the United States and various European countries have already noticed that China is using its economic rise as a means of pressure.”
“The US is preparing to further demonstrate with concrete actions to the world that it can provide assistance if faced with economic coercion from China.”
He explained that economic coercion is a form of gray-zone tactics. There are many gray-zone tactics, ranging from spreading false information in the media to economic coercion and legal battles, which do not escalate to the point of needing to defend against with force but confuse the parties involved, allowing China to continue undermining the current situation for its benefit.
He also mentioned that the establishment of this 8-person group is a strategic move, aimed at assisting allies in maintaining regional peace and preventing China from destabilizing the status quo.
According to insiders, about a dozen countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe are seeking guidance from the United States on how to prepare for or alleviate economic pressure from China.
In recent years, more and more countries have been subjected to China’s economic coercion.
When political disputes occur, China often uses economic and trade weapons to economically coerce other countries. The informal name of the “8-person group” established by the US State Department is “Firm,” led by China Policy Coordinator Melanie Hart, operating similarly to a consultancy company under the Office of the Deputy Secretary for Economic Growth and the Environment José Fernández.
Fernández stated that more countries are requesting US assistance in countering China, with the latest seeking help being the Philippines.
Lai mentioned that the US has noted China’s use of its economic rise as a tool and is now using it as a means of application. Therefore, the US has introduced this tactic of economic pressure against China through the “8-person group.”
“The establishment of this ‘8-person group’ is to show everyone that this is a strategic level, which will assist allies in the regional peace process in the future, in preventing China from disrupting the current situation.”
It was reported that the “8-person group” was established in 2021 and economists in the group analyzed China’s trade vulnerabilities. They then sought ways to help bullied countries diversify their export markets away from China and publicly express support as needed. The group also conducted tabletop exercises to devise different responses to Beijing.
Lai expressed that the announcement of the “8-person group” by the United States is a preparation for further concrete actions to demonstrate to the world that the US can provide assistance if faced with economic coercion from China.
He pointed out that this type of economic coercion is a gray-zone practice. There are many gray-zone practices, from spreading false information in the media to economic coercion, legal battles, which do not pose a danger requiring the use of force to defend oneself but rather disturb the countries involved, allowing China to continue disrupting the status quo.
He added, “China’s economic tactics, when interacting with the world, often result in trap killings.” For example, many Taiwanese merchants who conduct business in China are coerced by the CCP, using business for political purposes and economic pressure to force them to spread false information within Taiwan to create internal divisions, becoming a critical driver of CCP cognitive operations.
Wang Guochen believes that to some extent, the “8-person group” aims to disperse the harm to various countries. Therefore, in this context, it is essential to see how much sincerity each country is willing to show in jointly combating mainland China.
On October 28-29, 2023, the Group of Seven (G7) met in Osaka, Japan, and issued a statement afterward implying that China uses trade to economically coerce other countries, leveraging their economic dependencies as a weapon. The G7 countries strongly oppose this behavior.