The Taiwan Question in EU-China Relations

Recent tensions around Taiwan have raised concerns about a possible violent escalation of the situation around the island. In this context, FES Shanghai, together with the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS), decided to relaunch a well-established format of their mutual cooperation: this time, the Symposium on China-EU and Cross Straits Relations was held for the 17^th time.

Gabriela Heinrich, Vice Speaker of the Social Democrat parliamentary group in the German federal parliament and responsible for foreign policy, defence and human rights, summarized the past three years of EU-China relations since the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic. In her speech, she shared her views on issues ranging from pandemic control, trade frictions, geopolitical tensions, technological competition, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Taiwan Question.

Mr. Yang Lihua, Deputy Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, expounded on the many channels of cooperation between Shanghai and Taiwan, showcasing often overlooked aspects of the fruitful connections between the Chinese Mainland and the island.

Moreover, a number of Chinese and European scholars from France, the UK, Poland, Slovenia and Germany, discussed various further aspects, including the development of Mainland-Taiwan relations, Taiwan domestic political developments and possible policy recommendations for all parties.

The fact that opinions on the matter tended to differ widely after three years of a breakdown of exchanges went to underline the necessity of more dialogues like this one. As one participant noted at the end of the symposium: “We need to talk more.”