Joint Press Release on the U.S.-EU Dialogue on China and Indo-Pacific Consultations

The following is a joint press release issued by the Deputy Secretary of State and EEAS Secretary General Sannino.

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On September 9-10, 2024, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service (EEAS) Secretary General Stefano Sannino held the seventh high-level meeting of the U.S.-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth meeting of the U.S.-EU High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific.

Deputy Secretary of State Campbell and Secretary General Sannino discussed recent U.S. and EU engagement with China and the trajectory of their respective bilateral relationships.  As we continue to engage in robust competition with China, it remains important to keep open channels of communication.  They reiterated their openness to continued substantive diplomacy with China both in areas of common interest and in areas of difference.  They affirmed the importance of close coordination between the United States and the European Union in advancing shared objectives and democratic values and interests.

Deputy Secretary of State Campbell and Secretary General Sannino reiterated deep and increasing concern about China’s exports of significant amounts of dual-use goods and items used by Russia on the battlefield against Ukraine, and China-based companies’ continued involvement in sanctions evasion and circumvention.  They recognized China’s ongoing support for Russia’s military industrial base is enabling Russia to maintain its illegal war against Ukraine, which poses a threat to transatlantic as well as global security and stability.  They reiterated their expectation that China, as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, should act in support of international law, including the UN Charter, and recalled that any peace proposal in Ukraine must be based on the UN Charter and its principles, including respect for sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and in line with continued efforts to uphold the international rules-based order.

The United States and European Union both recognized the importance of balanced and fair economic relations with China, and reiterated their commitments to rules-based, free and fair trade, and to ensuring a level playing field for their workers and companies.  In this respect, the United States and the EU will both continue to actively address the challenges posed by China’s non-market policies and practices, including overcapacity and economic coercion.  Both sides confirmed their intention to continue de-risking by investing in their resilience and reducing dependencies and vulnerabilities in strategic sectors, which fosters resilience to economic coercion.  They also confirmed the importance to advance the governance of critical and emerging technologies.

Deputy Secretary of State Campbell and Secretary General Sannino also discussed the human rights situation in China, including recent respective engagement with China on this subject.  Both recognized the need for increased global awareness and decisive action to address continued human rights abuses by China, including in Tibet and Xinjiang.  They underscored that China should effectively cooperate with the OHCHR, including towards the implementation of the recommendations of its assessment on the human rights situation in Xinjiang, as well as with international human rights mechanisms.  They noted in particular the many cases of unjust and arbitrary detentions and called upon China to release all unjustly and arbitrarily detained individuals.  They committed to continue working on countering China’s practice of transnational repression, which targets individuals around the world.  They also committed to continue to share information concerning identifying and responding to foreign information manipulation and interference.  Finally, they noted their concern over China’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s autonomy, independent institutions, and civil society and continued erosion of rights and freedom, including through the March 2024 enactment of legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law.

The United States and the European Union underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is indispensable to international security and stability.  They called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues through dialogue.  They urged China to act with restraint in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan.  They expressed opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo, in particular by force or coercion.  They expressed support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.

Both sides expressed serious concern about tensions in the East and South China Seas and reiterated their strong opposition to recent actions by China that endanger the safety of life at sea and infringe upon freedom of navigation.  The two sides welcomed diplomatic efforts between the PRC and the Philippines, yet remained concerned about China’s dangerous and escalatory actions against lawful Philippines aerial and maritime operations in the South China Sea.  The principals recalled the June 14 Group of Seven Leaders’ statement, which reaffirmed that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and emphasized the universal and unified character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the vital importance of all states remaining free to exercise their rights and freedoms consistent with this international legal framework.  They reiterated that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on 12 July 2016 is legally binding upon the parties to those proceedings and forms a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.  The United States and the European Union expressed their strong commitment to upholding peace, stability and international law in the region.

Deputy Secretary of State Campbell and Secretary General Sannino also held the sixth meeting of the High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific.  They discussed ongoing and mutual strong support of a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive, prosperous, and secure, and protects shared principles including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of disputes, as well as respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, gender equality, and the rule of law.  They shared their respective assessments of the geopolitical trends shaping the situation in the Indo-Pacific.

They discussed current challenges in Myanmar, highlighting the UN Special Rapporteur’s June 26 report identifying banks assisting the military government and discussed means to further enhance coordination and assessment of restrictive measures.  They also strongly condemned the DPRK’s continued arms transfers to Russia and Russia’s use of DPRK ballistic missiles in Ukraine.  They discussed the value of U.S. and EU respective engagement with India on global challenges, on security, including in the maritime sphere, energy and connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.  The United States and the European Union also discussed the latest developments in Bangladesh.

The two sides also discussed their further respective engagement and partnerships across the region. They reaffirmed the importance of U.S. and EU combined initiatives on regional connectivity, notably in the framework of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) and the EU’s Global Gateway.  They confirmed their shared commitment to building clean energy connectivity across the Indo-Pacific, and planned to advance coordination on Vietnam and Indonesia through the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs).  In furtherance of this effort, the United States and EU are co-chairing a new development partners working group to further cross-border electricity in South Asia.  They positively discussed the U.S. Smart and Secure Ports Program and EU Global Ports Safety Project, both supporting Indo-Pacific partners with port modernization, security, and safety, as well as their complementary programming to promote digital connectivity infrastructure and modernization in the Philippines.

They highlighted ongoing efforts to advance U.S.-EU cooperation on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and underlined their intention to continue joint maritime security activities in the region.  They confirmed the first-ever U.S.-EU roundtable discussion at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.  They reiterated their shared commitment to continue enhancing maritime domain awareness (MDA) in the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the concrete steps to deepen complementarity between the U.S. SeaVision and EU-funded IORIS systems.  The United States and the EU will coordinate on maritime security trainings for partners and will explore the possibility of organizing a U.S.-EU Maritime Security Conference on the Indo-Pacific.

They discussed ongoing and increasing engagement in the Indian Ocean Region, including support for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

They assessed the continued threat posed by the widespread use of foreign information manipulation and interference and committed to further joint work with Indo-Pacific partners and deepening support to build free and resilient information ecosystems.  They also decided to explore future opportunities to continue supporting media practitioners in the region.

They discussed the success of the U.S.-EU-Japan Cybersecurity Week program in Tokyo and recommitted to continuing to explore activities in the context of the ASEAN Regional Forum to further enhance global cyber resilience and strengthen coordination on cyber capacity building in the Indo-Pacific region.

They noted progress made to support the Pacific Island countries (PICs) and Small Island States (and SIDS) by working through regional bodies such as the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) and affirmed their commitment to consider joint activities in support of the PICs and SIDS, including in the fields of blue economy, infrastructure, and climate resilience.  They welcomed partner cooperation alongside Australia on upcoming investment opportunities to support the fishery sector in the Republic of Marshall Islands and across the Pacific Islands.

They reiterated our shared values and commitment to explore ways in the Indo-Pacific region to advance the human rights of all, including by preventing and combatting discrimination and violence against persons on the grounds of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sexual characteristics.

Deputy Secretary of State Campbell and Secretary General Sannino reaffirmed the intent of the U.S. Department of State and European External Action Service to continue close coordination on China and the Indo-Pacific and to hold the next round of talks in Washington in the first half of 2025.

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