58 Amendments of Urmas PAET related to 2021/2037(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that China's continued economic rise will have a strong impact on global economic developments over the next decade and that in 2020 China for the first time ranked as the EU’s largest partner for trade in goods, with the trade balance further deteriorating to the EU’s detriment; stresses, however, that if also considering trade in services, China is still far from overtaking the US as the EU’s largest trading partner; recognizes nevertheless the important, yet challenging trade and investment relationship with China;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that in 2020, in the COVID- 19 context, China for the first time ranked as the EU’s largest partner for trade in goods, with the trade balance further deteriorating to the EU’s detriment; calls on the Commission to deeply analyse the EU's dependency on China in certain strategic and critical sectors, as the pandemic has revealed, using all our policies and setting out plans to make our supply chains more resilient, more diversified and reduce dependency;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the crackdown on the democratic opposition in Hong Kong;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is convinced that the EU-China bilateral trade and investment relationship is of strategic importance and should be rules-based, with the multilateral trading system at its core; stresses in this regard the importance of the WTO reform;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is convinced that the EU-China bilateral trade and investment relationship is of strategic importance and should be rules-based, with the multilateral trading system and the notion of reciprocity at its core;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
— Having regard to its resolution of 20 May 2021 on Chinese countersanctions on EU entities and MEPs and MPs;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 c (new)
Citation 5 c (new)
— Having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on Forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 d (new)
Citation 5 d (new)
— Having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2020 on the PRC national security law for Hong Kong and the need for the EU to defend Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned about the increasingly unbalanced EU-China bilateral economic and trade relationship; stresses that rebalancing and a more level playing field are vital to EU interests; recalls the overall objective for the European Union to build its open strategic autonomy;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned about the increasingly unbalanced EU-China bilateral economic and trade relationship; stresses that rebalancing and a more level playing field are vital to EU interests; highlights in this regard the EU’s ongoing work in strengthening its trade toolbox;
Amendment 32 #
A. whereas through its strong economic growth and ambitious foreign policy agenda, notably its investment strategy and its policies “Going Global”, “Made in China 2025” and its “Belt and Road Initiative”, China is asserting a stronger global role both as an economic power and as foreign policy actor, which poses serious political, economic, security and technological challenges to the EU, and has significant and long-lasting consequences foron the world order and poses threats to liberal democracy;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on the EU Member States and candidate countries to consider leaving the 16+1 format which can be counterproductive to speaking with one voice and undermines the unity of the European Union; encourages instead to pursue a common and unified EU policy towards China; acknowledges Lithuania’s recent decision to quit participating in the format and calls on other countries to follow its lead;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Welcomes the launch of the EU- US dialogue on China to cooperate on topics such as reciprocity, multilateralism, economic issues, human rights, resilience, security and climate change; calls to enhance EU-US coordination and cooperation on China even further;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Repeats its deep concern about the many barriers that European businesses face when accessing and operating on the Chinese market; is worried that China’s ‘dual circulation strategy’ referred to in its 14th Five Year Plan will further deteriorate the business environment for EU companies; is extremely concerned that several international companies, notably in the apparel and textiles sector, have been subject to an extensive and widespread boycott after expressing concern about the reports on forced labour in Xinjiang and taking the decision to cut supply-chain ties with Xinjiang; strongly condemns the aggressive political coercion exercised against them by the Chinese Government; highlights again its particular concern about the market distorting practices of Chinese state-owned enterprises, forced technology transfers and data localisation, industrial overcapacity in sectors such as steel and the related dumping of exports, and other unfair trading practices; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their cooperation at WTO-level with like-minded allies to develop a joint approach to tackle these Chinese unfair trading practices, including a new initiative on fighting counterfeiting;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas China is a cooperation partner but also an economic competitor and systemic rival; whereas, in this respect, the EU may share policy objectives with China, but it also has vulnerabilities that need to be carefully assessed, in order to develop a strategic response to Chinese projection of power and influence in the world and in to Europe;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. calls on China to play a more active part in multilateral initiatives at WTO-level such as the Trade and Climate, Trade and Health and the implementation of the SDGs; calls on China to play a more active role in the WTO reform, especially in restoring all the WTO dimensions, from monitoring, creating new rules and solving disputes; urges China to fully comply with all its WTO obligations;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas in recent years the EU faced a rising number of challenges from China through the Belt and Road Initiative, the 16 +1 format, divide-and- rule tactics, the Chinese investment strategy, disinformation campaigns, technological challenges and an increasingly assertive diplomacy;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
A c. whereas Chinese foreign policy expansion poses threats to liberal democracy, by indebting African, Asian, Latin American and even some Western Balkan countries through its Belt and Road Initiative and by attempting to assert its illiberal views through its growing influence in international organisations;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. calls on the Member States to allow for a swift adoption of an International Procurement Instrument to ensure reciprocal access to third country public procurement markets, in order to help European businesses which are facing discrimination and lack of access to the Chinese public procurement markets that remain largely closed;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas China has a track record of human rights violations that eschew the country’s bilateral and multilateral commitments in these areas; whereas goodwill measures and non-binding commitments have not been sufficient to increase Chinese commitment to values that are fundamental for the EU;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomNotes the conclusion at the political level of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI); recalls that the CAI has to be considered in the context of a strengthened EU toolbox of unilateral measures; underlines it will thoroughly scrutinise the agreement, including its sustainable development section, and take stock of the human rights context, before determining its position; highlights the European Parliament resolution of 20 May 2021 on Chinese countersanctions on EU entities and MEPs and MPs which states that any consideration of CAI, as well as any discussion on ratification by the European Parliament, has justifiably been frozen because of the Chinese sanctions in place; notes that in its resolution the European Parliament demands that China lift the sanctions before Parliament can deal with the CAI, without prejudice to the final outcome of the CAI ratification process;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission to consistently use all its available tools, including the debate and leverage around CAI, to improve and protect human rights and assist the civil society in China; stresses the importance of enhanced cooperation of Member States in countering Chinese disinformation and influence campaigns as many of such campaigns are targeting concrete Member States rather than the EU as a whole; is concerned about the reduction of the foreign correspondents in China, as it is causing a vacuum in the China coverage;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Highlights the urgent need to re- balance EU-China relations through the adoption of a more assertive toolbox of autonomous measures while recognising the need to maintain an open dialogue with Chinese government on other common challenges such as the global fight against climate change;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls on the Commission to propose an EU mandatory and horizontal due diligence legislation as a matter of urgency in order to ensure that EU companies and non-EU companies operating in the Single Market respect human rights, social and environmental standards through their supply chain as well as to eliminate the risk of forced labour and human rights abuses from their supply chains;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Is extremely concerned by the recent unilateral trade-related measures taken by China against Australia in retaliation to the Australian critics on the Chinese COVID-19 crisis management; calls on the Commission, in this very worrying context, to propose urgently its instrument to deter and counteract coercive actions by third countries in order to be able in future to respond to any illegal and unilateral measures adopted against the EU interests and international law;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Urges the Commission to present a blacklist and to propose an instrument to ban on the importation of goods produced using child labour or any other form of forced labour or modern slavery;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Reiterates its full support to the EU FDI Screening Regulation, putting in place for the first time an EU-level mechanism to coordinate the screening of foreign investments in strategic sectors; calls on Member States to adopt urgently a national screening mechanism if they do not have one yet, in line with the Commission guidelines from March 2020; recalls the importance to strengthen the existing EU FDI Screening Regulation in order to make sure that any potential investments which could be a threat to the EU security and public order, in particular with regard to Chinese state- owned and state-controlled enterprises in European strategic sectors, are blocked;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5 f. welcomes the Commission regulation proposal on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market; calls for a swift adoption of this regulation, making sure that thresholds and the procedures allow for an efficient instrument, in order to tackle the Chinese unfair trading practices in the European Single Market;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5 h. Reiterates its call on the Commission and the Council to start the scoping exercise and formally launch the negotiations with Taiwan for an Investment Agreement;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the entry into force of the EU-China Agreement on geographical indications (GIs), and reiterates the importance of effective and exemplary implementation of the Agreement; underlines that this limited agreement on GIs could serve as a model and basis for future GIs agreements; highlights the crucial role that the Chief Trade Enforcement Officer (CTEO) will play in monitoring and improving compliance with this Agreement; calls on the CTEO to react immediately in the event that the Agreement is not implemented correctly.
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Calls on the Commission to closely follow the developments of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which is the largest free trade agreement in the world and of which China is one of the main winners; notes that although the EU is not a party to RCEP, the agreement will have implications on the EU; stresses that even though the European Commission has found the immediate economic impact of RCEP to be rather modest, RCEP has a review clause every five years, which provides for future tariff negotiations and incremental liberalisation;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Urges the Commission to move forward with the Bilateral Investment Agreement with Taiwan and start the impact assessment, public consultation and scoping exercise with Taiwan before the end of 2021;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Underlines China’s active engagement and rising influence in the Arctic region, including in economic activity; calls on the Commission to address China’s rising influence, its possible threats and risks and the EU’s response to it in its upcoming Arctic Strategy;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the VP/HR to ensure that the new EU-China strategy involves China in an open regular EU-China 27+1 dialogue on global challenges, such as climate change, promotion of economic recovery from Covid-19 and the fight against global pandemics;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Supports greater dialogue and cooperation with China on peace and security, sustainable development, science, technology and innovation, environmental issues, space and aerospace, the reform of the WTO;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for Human Rights Dialogues to be held regularly and calls for a solid benchmarking of the progress made in bilateral dialogues more generally; calls furthermore for a shadow human rights dialogue involving EU and member states diplomats, Chinese diaspora, NGOs, academics and lawmakers aimed at forging a better understanding of the Chinese system and devising better strategies to influence human rights progress in China;
Amendment 211 #
(b) a recommitment by China to uphold its international commitments to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law through the suspension of planned reforms to the city’s electoral system;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point c
Paragraph 8 – point c
(c) the lifting the counter-of sanctions imposed by the Chinese Ggovernment on EU entities and individuals, including Members of the European Parliament and the Subcommittee on Human Rights in retaliation of the Council 22nd March’s decision to impose sanctions on 4 Chinese officials and one entity;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. States its support for UN to carry outUrges the EU and its Member States to intensify efforts to reach enough international support for an independent UN legal investigations into alleged genocide and crimes against humanity taking place in the Xinjiang region and in the meantime to commission an EU led legal investigation to make preliminary determinations into the alleged crimes;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. States its support for UN to carry out legal investigations into alleged genocide and crimes against humanity taking place in the Xinjiang region; Calls China to allow UN Commissioner of Human Rights independent and unfettered access to Xinjiang to investigate the situation on the ground;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for the introduction of a unilateral ban on the import of products from forced labour and child labour or any other form of modern slavery; Calls on the Commission to bring forward the proposed Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Framework as a matter of urgency; Underlines the need to ensuring that the current trade and internal market legislation, as well as any due diligence framework or forced labour import ban, be efficiently and effectively used in order to exclude entities directly or indirectly involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang, operating on the EU internal market;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Calls on the Commission to address the crackdown on foreign NGOs by Chinese authorities and urges it to delete the ninth section of Annex II of the CAI that states that senior staff of foreign NGOs that are operating in China must be Chinese citizens; believes that the passage further restricts the work of foreign NGOs that already have to operate under the strict NGO law of 2017;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Calls on the EU Member States to fully implement the package of measures that was agreed following the introduction of the National Security Law for Honkong in July 2020 and to review their asylum, migration, visa and residence policy for Hong Kongers; Calls for targeted measures under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, as necessary, in order to address repressions in Hong Kong;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to commission an EU-wide audit of the EU dependency on China in certain strategically important and critical sectors on both national and subnational levels, setting out plans to reduce dependency, while maintaining overall trade relations with China, which should be as open as possible;
Amendment 291 #
(b) building on the EU toolbox for national, regional and local risk-mitigating measures, to develop joint standards for the new generation of technologies, such as 5G networks;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Calls for EU Member States to stop their participation in 17+1 format and concentrate on having a common 27+1 foreign policy with China;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Believes that the future EU-China strategy should be more coordinated between the EU institutions and the Member States, as well as between the different Commission Directorates General; believes that policies should also be coordinated with regional and local actors that develop and maintain links with China;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Believes that the EU-China strategy should have appropriate budgetary arrangements and financing, as well as integrated performance measurement, monitoring, reporting and evaluation arrangements;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Notes that the increasing number of hybrid attacks originating from China requires special attention, due to their destabilising and dangerous nature; Recalls that these attacks are by itself often not serious enough to trigger Article 5of the NATO treaty or Article 42(7) of the TEU, though have a strategic effect cumulative and cannot be effectively tackled by retorsions by the injured member state; Believes that the EU should therefore strive to find a solution to fill this legal vacuum in a way that would reserve the right for collective defence below the collective defence threshold and allow for collective countermeasures of EU Member States on a voluntary basis;
Amendment 356 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls on the Commission to take into account and include in its strategy Chinas rapidly growing interest in the Arctic and its actions already taking place in the Arctic region;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Supports expanding contacts between peoples on both sides as well as mutual exchange visits of students but encourages the EU member states to better monitor the impact of Chinese government interference in academic freedom, and if deemed necessary counter Chinese efforts to undermine academic freedom;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Amendment 395 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Underscores the necessity of fostering closer cooperation with NATO and G7 countries to fight hybrid and cyber threats and disinformation campaigns stemming from China;
Amendment 437 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30 a. Urges the Commission to come up with concrete proposals and action to facilitate Taiwan’s full participation as an observer in the meetings, mechanism and activities of the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the UNFCCC;
Amendment 441 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Considers it necessary to develop new industrial policies in areas such as microchips and semiconductor production, rare earth mining, cloud computing and telecoms technology in order to decrease EU’s reliance on Chinese supply chains, always with an outlook to ensure better coordination of those policies with that of other like-minded liberal democracies whilst exploring the potential to jointly pool resources and create new synergies along the way;
Amendment 466 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Points to the need to strengthen the EU’s tools to defend itself, increase its capacity to protect its interests overseas, acquire greater influence in its direct neighbourhood and ensure that the Member States are united in their geopolitical approach; finds that in this regard the EU should urgently develop an effective toolbox comprising economic instruments to tackle threats of economic coercion and of weaponization of choke points in an increasingly networked global economy;
Amendment 487 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Calls for defence cooperation among the Member States to be strengthened and for the Member States to invest in stronger cooperation with other democratic players such as United States, Canada, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand;