EU wants to avoid 'dependencies' on China like Russian gas

The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell.

The European Union is seeking to avoid being as dependent on China as it has been on Russian gas, EU-27 Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Saturday, calling for stronger trade with China. Latin America.

We discovered that addictions, which were building blocks of peace, are also weapons that can turn against us, said Mr. Borrell, pointing out Europe's overreliance on Russian gas.

This was highlighted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Moscow restricted gas supplies to Europe and forced the continent to find other supply routes. /p>

According to him, this dependence made [Vladimir] Putin think that he could invade Ukraine with impunity because Europe, a prisoner of our gas consumption 40% from Russia, would not react.

We want to avoid that our relationship with China makes us dependent as we have been on Russia, he said during his speech at the Ibero-American Summit in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.< /p>

The head of EU diplomacy said 2023 was a key year for concluding agreements elsewhere, with Latin America in particular, in view of the summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in mid-July.

Europe and Latin America have the opportunity to show that their commercial relationship is always a source of progress, Borrell continued, adding that European investment in Latin America is higher than in Russia, China, India and Japan combined.

According to a report by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 36% of the $142 billion in investment foreigners in the region came from Europe in 2021.