The summit between China and the European Union (EU) began in Beijing on Thursday, with leaders set up to discuss issues ranging from trade conflicts to the war in Ukraine.
However, expectations are tempered by uncertainty over the attendance of China’s National President Xi Jinping after he reportedly refused to visit Brussels, where the summit was held.
China confirmed this week that XI will meet Beijing’s European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council of Europe Antonio Costa.
Optimism surrounded EU-China relations at the beginning of the year, hoping that US President Donald Trump would bring the two economic powers closer together.
But a few months later, Eu-China’s connections are more fulfilling than before.
The summit is an opportunity for the EU and China to “advance and rebalance” their relationship, von der Leien wrote to X shortly after his arrival in Beijing.
“I am sure there is mutually beneficial cooperation… something that can define the next 50 years of our relationship,” she said.
Her words reflect the image of hope that both sides were projected ahead of the summit. EU officials said they were ready for a candid conversation, but Chinese officials framed it as an opportunity for greater cooperation.
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry told reporters on Tuesday that bilateral relations are at a “critical time for opening a new chapter based on past achievements.”
But despite this, despite the 27 EU member states tackling similar pressures as China, there is little optimism that something important will emerge from the summit in Brussels.
Finding a common cause, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke earlier this month about the EU-Beijing relationship as “one of the most defining and consequential things of the century,” discussing the need to advance on deadlocked issues.
But President Xi Qinco’s decision to refuse an invitation to Brussels earlier this year and appear in Moscow for Russia’s annual World War I victory parade in May has got off to a poor start.
Engen Eroglu, who chairs the Chinese delegation of the European Parliament, believes that already vulnerable trust between China and the EU has reached a new low.
One of the main things that led to the deterioration of the relationship between the two giants was the issue of Russia and the Crane War.
Last week, the EU’s decision to impose sanctions on two Chinese banks for their role in Russian supply was plagued by the preparations for this summit and was made for the troublesome climate.
China said it had submitted “silly expressions” to the EU trade chief before the summit.
And China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi reported this month to EU foreign policy director Kaja Kallas that Beijing told Russia didn’t want to lose the war in Ukraine.
Wang Yi reportedly said that the Russian-Ukraine war would continue to divert the US from rivalry with China.
Called Ukraine’s “significant enabler of Russian war” earlier this year, Karas added, “If China really wants to stop supporting it, it will have an impact.”
Trade relations are also at the heart of the EU’s concerns.
After the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles last year, Beijing came up with a retaliatory obligation on European liquor.
And this month, Beijing restricted government purchases of EU medical devices. This is a response to the EU, which has imposed similar restrictions on Chinese medical devices in June.
And perhaps more importantly, China has raised export controls on rare earths and important minerals this year, and European Commission’s von der Leyen accused Beijing of using “quasi-units” in the rare earth global market as a weapon to undermine major industrial competitors.
Europe is already frustrated to see industries threatened by cheap and subsidized Chinese products. Last year, the trade deficit with China was 35.8 billion euros ($360 billion, £265 billion), doubled in just nine years.
In a previous interview with China-linked news outlet The Paper, the Chinese ambassador of the European Union CAI Ran, had problems with the EU’s positioning of China as “a partner of cooperation, economic competitors and whole body rivals.”
“The EU’s three times more position than China is like a traffic light that has green, mber and red lights all at once. It not only fails to direct traffic, it creates difficulties and disturbances.”
