European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang for the 24th EU-China Summit in Beijing, Reuters reported Dec. 7.
As expected, the summit ended without a substantial shift in positions from either side, highlighting fundamental bilateral divisions between China and the European Union in areas from trade to the Russia-Ukraine war. Nevertheless, both parties accentuated their mutual interest in maintaining dialogue and cooperation wherever possible on bilateral and global issues, such as climate change and debt relief for developing countries.
The meeting failed to resolve EU concerns about its trade deficit with China and China’s uneasiness with the European Union’s ongoing subsidy probes and possible export restrictions vis a vis China. Still, the summit — the first in-person meeting between Chinese and EU leadership since the COVID-19 pandemic — illustrates a mutual interest in maintaining positive relations despite fundamental disagreements given persistent economic and trade interdependence.
The summit follows a series of high-level meetings between China and the European Union. It also comes amid a push by the European Union to de-risk its relations with China — particularly by reducing the bloc’s reliance on the Chinese market, investments and supplies of critical raw materials and green technologies — balanced against a desire to maintain overall positive trade and economic ties.
