The European Union condemned the Chinese regime’s human rights record during a recent meeting, while the latter tried to court more trade and investment with central and eastern European countries. Around the same time, France sent a warship and submarine to the South China Sea for a “freedom of navigation” patrol, to Beijing’s ire. Some China analysts said these moves indicated that European countries, though eager to do business with China, were also taking a strong stance against Beijing’s aggressions. Wang-Borrell Conference China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell held a video conference on Feb. 8. According to the EU statement about the conference, Borrell stressed the EU’s “strong concerns about the ongoing pressure on democracy and fundamental rights in Hong Kong, the treatment of human rights defenders, as well as the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, in particular …