Von der Leyen Pledges to Deter China’s Ambition, ‘Particularly Over Taiwan’

Ursula von der Leyen, current president of the European Commission, said she’d deter China from invading Taiwan in her bid to secure a second term as the bloc’s president.

In her manifesto titled “Europe’s Choice,” von der Leyen said she’d seek to deter Beijing from “changing the status quo by military means” and ensure global supply chain security by working with Europe’s Indo-Pacific partners.

“Similarly, we will work with Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australia with whom we face common challenges in cyber, space and in the secure supply of critical minerals and technologies.

“This includes our collective efforts to deploy the full range of our combined statecraft to deter China from unilaterally changing the status quo by military means, particularly over Taiwan,” said von der Leyen. 

A US admiral recently said Beijing aimed to ready its capability to invade Taiwan by 2027, a notion reportedly rejected by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

However, Xi told US President Joe Biden during his December 2023 San Francisco visit that Beijing would reunify Taiwan with mainland China preferably through peaceful means, though the timing and precise course of actions have not been decided.

In von der Leyen’s manifesto, she also said that Beijing has increased military spending alongside Moscow and called for Europe to step up its defense initiative.

“To put this into perspective, combined EU spending on defense from 1991 to 2021 increased by 20 percent. In that time, Russia’s defense spending increased by almost 300 percent and China’s by almost 600 percent.

“At the same time, our spending is too disjointed, disparate and not European enough. We must change this,” she said. 

Earlier in her manifesto, von der Leyen said that there’s a danger in Beijing monopolizing certain exports, and she sought to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in what she called “a shift from cooperation to competition” in Europe’s policy towards Beijing.

“We have seen first-hand the dangers of dependencies or fraying supply chains – from medical products in the pandemic to Putin’s energy blackmail or China’s monopoly on raw materials essential for batteries or chips,” she said.

She said the “more aggressive posture and unfair economic competition from China, its ‘no-limits’ friendship with Russia – and the dynamics of its relationship with Europe” mean Beijing is now a competitor for Europe.

“We are seeing a weaponization of all types of policies, from energy to migration and the climate. As a result, our rules-based international order is fraying, and our global institutions have become less effective,” reads the manifesto.

The European Parliament was set to vote on von der Leyen’s nomination for the post on Thursday, July 18. She would secure another five years at the post if re-elected. If she does not receive the required majority, the European Council will propose a new candidate within one month.

UPDATE: As of 1:36 p.m. GMT, July 18, von der Leyen secured her second term by receiving support from 401 Members of the European Parliament, with 284 voting against her presidency.