Systems powered by artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and cutting-edge microchips, together with genetic engineering, are being viewed with suspicion by the European Commission. As a result, the European Union (EU) is now in close and intense consultation with the EU’s 27 member states to establish an argument for potential trade bans and investment screenings.
This internal EU analysis is understood to be a direct result of a “de-risking” strategy pioneered by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “De-risking” was initially proposed in the context of worsening EU-China relations following the repression of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war against Ukraine, continued tensions in the Taiwan Strait and rising levels of international cyber-espionage.
The primary driver behind the EU’s new initiative is a growing fear that member states may have allowed a potentially hostile state to compromise the continent’s security. Brussels has woken up to the fact that China controls crucial shares of the raw materials and manufactured products such as solar panels, batteries, and electric cars, in addition to numerous other technologies. The European Commissioners are now also seeing that China appears to have little compunction when it comes to using its technological supply chains combined with cyber-attacks to punish its critics.
According to the European Commission’s vice president for values and transparency Věra Jourová: “Technology is currently at the heart of geopolitical competition. And the EU wants to be a player, not a playground.”
The European Commission vows to take action
The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, commented: “This is not against any country. We do what we believe is in the general interest of our fellow citizens. When we see there is a risk of over-dependency, a risk of breaking a supply chain which could be critical for us, we take actions, we don’t wait.”
But the Commission may discover it has already waited for far too long and that Chinese supply chains are already well-established in many of the EU’s 27 member states. While the results of the EU’s ongoing analysis of the situation could theoretically open the door for potential trade restrictions, any such step is likely to be met with opposition from member states who have long-established trade links with China and who might also resent Brussels’ interference in matters of national security.
