EU pledges de-risk from China and debates what this means

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union leaders committed on Friday to reducing the bloc's dependence on China and debated how to strike a balance between "de-risking" and engaging in areas such as climate change.

Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said finding the right stance was "the million euro question", adding the de-risking strategy followed the EU's painful lesson from reliance on Russian gas, which Moscow cut after its invasion of Ukraine.

"What it basically says is (to) assess are we overly dependent in some way on China in trade and how to reduce so that if something changes drastically in the world we're not left high and dry," he said before Friday's EU summit session.

The 27-nation European Union has since 2019 considered China a partner, competitor and system rival. Its caution has increased over China's more aggressive "wolf warrior" diplomacy and Beijing's closer ties to Moscow.

"We see China more and more as a systemic rival," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. "I'm a liberal so I'm really for the market to be open, but at the same time we also see what happens when you are connected to partners that don't share the same values."

Conclusions for the summit call on China to press Russia to stop the war in Ukraine and express concern about growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, while stressing a shared interest in stable relations.

EU leaders sought on Friday to present a united front, but there are differences between countries such as France and Germany, with sizeable business interests in China, and Lithuania, on which Chinese has imposed sanctions.

The conclusions say the European Union will reduce critical dependencies and de-risk and diversify where necessary.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in March that a hardening of China's position required Europe to "de-risk" both economically and diplomatically.

The Commission is also urging EU members to agree to stronger controls on exports and outflows of technologies to military use by "countries of concern", with China clearly in mind.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Alison Williams)