EU Member States are making efforts to present a common front with China and are pushing back against the bilateral agreements that China routinely signs with individual countries, according to German media reports.

At the centre of the controversy are the memoranda of understanding that China likes to sign with individual countries during high level visits to Beijing, setting out areas of cooperation within the Belt Road initiative.

The EU report, compiled by 27 of the 28 national EU ambassadors to Beijing (Hungary being the only country not to participate), says that Belt Road runs counter to the EU agenda for liberalizing trade and pushes the balance of power in favour of subsidized Chinese companies.

The EU Commission is currently working on a strategy paper to set out a common EU position with regard to the Belt Road. The view from Brussels is that it has so far been a one-sided relationship, with China demanding access to European markets while pursuing its domestic agenda with regard to the reduction of surplus capacity, the creation of new export markets and safeguarding access to raw materials.

The EU is demanding that China must take account of the interests of all participants, and that China should be pressured to adhere to European principles of transparency in public procurement, as well as environmental and social standards.

In May 2017 the then German economics minister Brigitte Zypries traveled to Beijing for the Belt & Road Forum. At the time there were widespread reports about disagreements between EU officials and China about the wording of a proposed communique. Zypries used the event to publicly call for a commitment to free trade. She did not sign the communique.

The two EU countries viewed by Brussels as having the closest relationship with China are Hungary and Greece. Cosco owns Piraeus Port, and the EU has expressed its concern about a China-backed high-speed rail project from Belgrade to Budapest which runs across the EU border.

Brussels also remains unhappy about the so called 16+1 group where China seeks to cooperate with Central and Eastern European countries, both EU members and non-EU members.

Brexit is also complicating matters, as one of the world’s largest economies prepares to exit the EU. China Daily reported last week that Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke on the telephone and reaffirmed their desire to move forward into a “Golden Era” of bilateral ties between the two sides.

The two sides agreed on pushing the bilateral relations to a more strategic, practical, globalized and inclusive level, and making joint efforts to constantly lead the relationship between the two countries to move forward.