Media & Reports 2023 16 February 2023 To counter the strategic challenge of “Systemic Rival” China, EU needs swifter and more decisive action, says Secretary General EICC. In a letter addressed to Mr. Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission, Secretary General Sunil Prasad said that the rise of China, an empire based on the coercion of unwilling people, has presented liberal democracies with a challenge it has not faced before.