Remarks by Amb Mr. Tan at the NCBC/VNC Event for the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China
(3 October, 2024, Zwolle, the Netherlands)
Dear friends,
Ladies and gentlemen,
A very good afternoon to you all.
Many thanks for organizing this event, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Many of you have worked in China, or been doing business with China;
Which means you have not only witnessed, but also participated in and contributed to China’s development.
Allow me to express my sincere gratitude to you.
We treasure your friendship.
It is my great pleasure to be with friends.
I can be more forthcoming when talking to friends. Dutch-direct.
I wish to touch two issues.
First, on China US relations.
There has been so much rhetoric about decoupling. Banning or blacklisting Chinese companies is not of a rare occurrence.
The real issue is that the US takes China as its most consequential geopolitical challenge.
The US has abandoned the policy of engagement, containment is the replacement.
Well, I think I should congratulate the US on the achievements in advancing its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
For one thing, the GDP gap between the two largest economies widened in US favour, thanks in no small part to the strengthening of the dollars.
For the other, last year, for the first time in recent human history, China lost the title of the most populous country in the world, to India.
China is not a threat. Hope the US will not worry that much.
China wants improve and have good relations with the US, both could mutually respect and peacefully coexist for win-win cooperation. This is good for us, good for the world.
Second, on our relations with the EU, including the NL
EU has been pursuing a three-tiered policy of cooperation, competition and systemic rivalry with China.
This is confusing and self-conflicting.
Calling China a systemic rival is harmful to China-EU relations.
Recently, EU has initiated a countervailing investigation on EV from China. The result of the investigation will be made tomorrow.
EU takes this action not at the request from its car industry. In fact it is opposed by the industry.
Moreover, it is inconsistent with EU’s championship for transition to green economy and combating climate change.
We hope that the NL, as a standard-bearer for free trade and with no major EV industry, could understand and support our position.
China regards the EU as an important pillar in the multi-polar world, and supports EU’s strategic autonomy.
Hope the EU could see China as a partner, rather than a rival.
Dear Friends,
The EU and the NL often say they want to de-risk, to reduce dependence on China, and echo US’s line of “rule-based international order”.
Allow me to give you my brief responses.
A. On the risk.
If the risk issue is raised because of the Ukraine crisis and the Covid, it is understandable.
Yet risks should be based on evidence, not speculation.
For instance, the so-called Chinese companies’ spying, there is no proof.
Sheer size, raw weight, difference in culture and social system, do not necessarily constitute risks, and make China a threat.
B. On dependence.
We all embrace trade. Why trade?
Because of complementarity, or mutual need, which should be not be overstretched as dependence, let alone risks.
Assuming there is a dependence issue, against the backdrop of growing geopolitical rhetoric, then, who depends more on whom?
China depends more on the West than the other way around, as it basically makes and exports low-end goods.
We count on ASML for DUV machine as we are not able to make them.
C. On the “rule-based international order”;
What rules and what order?
China firmly supports the international system with the UN as its core, the international order with international law as its basis, the multilateral trading system with the WTO as its corner stone.
China is part of and has benefited from the international system.
There is no point for China to reinvent the wheel by creating new rules or order.
China is the second largest contributor to the budget of the UN and so many other international organizations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I wish to take this opportunity to say I am hopeful and optimistic about our relations.
-- China is committed to peaceful development.
The central task for the governing party and government is to meet the growing need of the 1.4 billion Chinese people for a better life.
Peaceful development has been written into China’s constitution.
We are not interested in geopolitical competition.
To replace any other country is never our national strategy.
There is no fundamental conflict of interests between us.
Throughout history, China has not harmed the interest of Europe, and that of the NL.
China and Europe, yes we have differences, yet our common grounds outweigh the differences.
-- China is committed to reform and opening up.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC held in mid-July made it very clear that China is on the course of Chinese modernization, will not waver in its state policy of reform and opening up, only deeper, wider and breaking new ground.
It has adopted the new blueprint for China’s development, with over 300 important reform measures, to be completed in five years time before 2029.
The details of many issues in the Blueprint are being fleshed out, the objective is to promote high-level development.
For instances, in addition to the unilateral visa-free arrangement, in eary September, China announced to allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in some big cities across the country.
China is to eliminate all restrictions on the foreign investment in manufacturing sectors.
China will continue to foster a market-oriented and law-based business environment in keeping with international standards; treat companies under all types of ownership as equals; protect the property rights of enterprises.
China will stay attractive to international investors, continue to be the engine for global growth, create more opportunities for the rest of the world.
-- China is a major force for international cooperation.
Issues like climate change, artificial intelligence, are game changers and could be game over for humanity.
We all share our fate in the same boat. China will not rock the boat, only help steady it. We live in a global village, have a shared future.
China takes its international responsibility seriously.
On climate change, China is on course to meet its climate goals -- carbon peaking before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060.
In 2023, China accounted for an extraordinary 63% of global net additions in total renewable capacity.
Almost two-thirds of big wind and solar plants under construction globally are in China.
China has made it clear that it will not finance or build any coal-fired power plant abroad.
On AI, can you believe that China and the US support and co-sponsor each other’s resolution at the UN General Assembly?
I hope our efforts and contribution could be acknowledged and appreciated.
Here is my repeated line: China is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Dear friends,
China attaches great importance to its relations with the NL.
We are promoting exchanges at all levels, government, business, people-to-people.
We usually do not receive visits by out-going leaders in their care-taking capacity. Yet we welcomed Mr. Mark Rutte’s visit in last March.
We are now closely working with the new government to ensure that our relations go forward, not backward.
China and the NL, we are not like-minded on many issues, yet we should be open-minded, and have equal-footed dialogues.
We may not love each other at this point -- hope we will someday, at least we know we need each other.
We want to maintain and develop the Open and Pragmatic Partnership for Comprehensive Cooperation with the NL.
China is not a threat, neither a sleeping lion, nor a 800 pound gorilla.
It is a bamboo-eating, vegan panda.
Talking about panda, the two giant ones living here have recently given birth to their second child.
The Netherlands is a fertile land, productive land, good land.
Sino-Dutch cooperation can bear more fruits.
In closing, I want to thank NCBC/VNC/ASIAN again for organizing this celebration, and thank you all for coming.
My best wishes to the development of Sino-Dutch relations, to the strengthening of international cooperation, and to your health and happiness.
Thank you.
