EU not doing itself any favors by trying to play the 'climate card'

According to a widely quoted Financial Times report, the European Union is holding back on signing a joint declaration with China on climate action this month, unless China pledges greater efforts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

The report came at almost the same time Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded his visit to the EU Headquarters last week. That suggests that the EU's stalling on the climate deal might not be because of its alleged dissatisfaction with China's emissions reduction achievements but rather because of other factors.

China's realized emissions reduction and its reduction ambition are both impressive. Over the past decade, the share of nonfossil fuels in China's total energy consumption has risen to 17.9 percent and the carbon intensity has declined by over 34 percent.

The EU has on different occasions made public its recognition of China's role as a major contributor to the world's fight against global warming, and it being a responsible partner that the bloc looks forward to working more closely with to address the common challenge of climate change.

The EU's reluctance to shut its door to the Chinese-made electric vehicles, despite its so-called "subsidy" allegations, is an admission of China's strengths in green tech and the green economy.

It is arguably the Ukraine crisis that is the real drawback. Wang's meetings with the EU leaders last week highlighted once again the different stances the EU and China have on the Ukraine crisis — with China adhering to a neutral stance and the EU backing Ukraine. This has proved to be a major divide in Sino-EU relations, prompting the latter to make an issue out of their planned joint climate declaration.

In other words, the EU is trying to cure its own headache by reaching for the wrong medicine. It is trying to leverage its climate cooperation with China to pressure the latter to adjust its stance on the Ukraine crisis.

That is wishful thinking.

China has adopted a principled position on the Ukraine crisis and it will not be compelled to change it by the EU playing the "climate card". Before the EU demands China walk in its shoes on the crisis, it should objectively observe China's position on it.

That position is shared by many pro-peace countries in the world. And China's objective and fair position and its mobilizing of efforts to promote a ceasefire have been also widely recognized by the international community, as demonstrated by the "Friends of Peace" group it has formed with Brazil and other Global South countries at the United Nations.

During his meetings with his European hosts, be it in Brussels, Berlin or Paris, Wang reiterated China's position on the Ukraine crisis: which includes not providing lethal weapons to either party in the conflict, strictly controlling exports of dual-use (civilian/military) items, including drones, and insisting on peace talks to end the conflict.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly indicated that there is no simple solution to complex problems, and although there are still major differences in the positions of the parties concerned, it is better to talk than to fight.

Rather than trying to coerce China to adopt the EU's position, the EU should take a leaf out of China's book and work to get the two belligerents to talk. It should bear in mind that the history of Europe over the past centuries has proved that no matter how complex and difficult the situation is, the door to peace and reconciliation should not be closed.

So many lives have been lost and so many sanctions imposed without bringing either of the belligerent parties any closer to a victory on the battlefield. The EU is in a better position to rationally view the root cause of the Ukraine crisis and its ramifications. Not to mention the fact that China has practiced considerable restraint toward the EU's irrational sanctions on Chinese entities citing the Ukraine crisis. The bloc should not make climate cooperation a bargaining chip with China.

As Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, China will continue working with the rest of the world to enhance international cooperation on climate and contribute to global green transition and sustainable development. It will also adhere to its neutral and pro-peace position on the Ukraine crisis.