China has warned Belgium that it is "playing with fire" over Taiwan, after the Federal Parliament published a draft resolution which explicitly condemns China's "aggressiveness" towards the island and calls for the Belgian Government to "strengthen" its ties with Taipei.
In a forceful letter addressed to the Chair of the Federal Government's Foreign Affairs Committee Els Hoof (CD&V) by Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming — seen by Politico — Belgium is explicitly cautioned not to "support 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces through any means". The letter also denounces Belgium for "'playing with fire' on the Taiwan question" in a way that "will seriously damage relations between relevant countries and China".
The letter condemned Van Hoof's November visit to Taiwan as a "harmful act that violates the one-China policy" and noted that such gestures have the potential to "damage peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait".
Belgium, like the rest of the EU, is officially committed to the so-called 'one-China' policy, according to which Taiwan is viewed as part of China: a view strongly insisted upon by Beijing but resisted by Taipei. (Indeed, the draft resolution explicitly "stresse[s] that the present motion for a resolution does not go against the one-China policy of Belgium".)
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The Chinese Ambassador's warning comes at a time of growing tension between Beijing and Brussels. Last October, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (MR) deeply angered Beijing when she suggested in an interview with Belgian media that Chinese trading vessels might be repurposed as military warships.
Such tensions reflect a general worsening of relations between China and the West, which were significantly exacerbated by former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this year, which in turn led to China conducting a series of military exercises over the Taiwan Strait.
Belgium's economy is heavily dependent upon trade with China: a recent report published by the Chinese Embassy in Belgium estimated that in the first eight months of this year bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $28,7 billion dollars — a 14% increase compared to the year before.
