The eagerly awaited summit between China and the European Union offers a valuable opportunity to put troubled ties back on track. Major breakthroughs are not expected, with the two sides deeply divided on multiple issues. But progress can still be made in the one-day summit tomorrow chaired by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. President Xi Jinping will meet the two European leaders during their trip to Beijing.
The chance to engage in constructive dialogue should be seized. It is in the interests of both parties to explore ways of resolving their differences and finding common ground.
EU leaders
agreed to switch the venue from Europe to China, keen to convey their views directly to Xi. But the political environment is discouraging. The EU imposed
sanctions on two Chinese banks on Friday, as part of measures targeting Russia over the war in Ukraine. Beijing has
warned it will retaliate.
European leaders are concerned about China’s
restrictions on rare earth exports, believing the EU to be collateral damage in the US trade war with Beijing. Von der Leyen
has accused China of enabling Russia’s war economy and flooding global markets with subsidised goods, while calling for faster “de-risking” from Beijing.
China is frustrated with the EU. This was reflected in the frank and forthright language used by top diplomat Wang Yi in discussions this month. He
reportedly said Beijing did not want Russia to lose the war in Ukraine because it feared the United States would then turn its full attention to China. The EU needs to better understand China’s position. The bloc appears to represent the ideological approach of the Joe Biden presidency and the Trump approach to trade. For China this is the worst of both worlds.
Chinese firms in Europe expressed the hopes of many when they called on the two sides to take the
“historic opportunity” to strike a substantive trade deal, removing barriers and reaching a compromise. That is unlikely. But the most must be made of the talks. They should be positive and productive, a first step on the long and difficult journey to the forging of stronger, more stable ties.
