EU and China align on Libya’s unity

The European Union and China reaffirmed their support for a united, sovereign and stable Libya after EU Ambassador Nicola Orlando met China’s newly appointed ambassador to Libya, as reported by The Libya Observer and agencies on May 20th.

Orlando said the two sides exchanged views on the latest political and security developments in Libya and the wider region, both sides also reaffirmed support for UNSMIL and for a political process based on consensus among Libyans.

The meeting showed that the EU and China despite having different strategic interests in Libya are both presenting the UN track as the central framework for a concrete political progress.

The reference to Hanna Tetteh’s mediation is also important as it places the discussion inside the current UN effort to move Libya’s political process forward through consensus building rather than through a new internationally imposed roadmap.

For the EU Libya remains a priority because of migration, energy security, border management and instability in the central Mediterranean, Brussels has consistently linked Libya’s unity to a simple institutional reform, budget transparency and the need for accountable governance while the reality appears to be more delicate.

For China the cooperation with Libya is increasingly tied to its economic re-entry and control strategies, Beijing has shown interest in industrial cooperation, development projects and the return of Chinese companies to the Libyan market but those ambitions depend on a more predictable political and security environment.

Both actors need stability in Libya even if they approach the country through different tools, Europe through governance, migration and security frameworks while China through investment, construction and economic cooperation.

Libya’s divided security structure is clearly shaping its foreign relations as instead of one national military institution managing external partnerships, rival centres of authority are building separate channels with competing powers.

The Libya Observer and agencies, maghrebi.org