The China-EU summit on 9 April could, by closing without a joint declaration, reveal once again the gap in ambitions between the parties, reinforcing the growing scepticism on the European side about China's desire to turn words into deeds.
The 21st annual EU-China Summit will take place on Tuesday 9 April with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on the European side, and Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as other members of the delegation.
In preparation for the summit, the Heads of State and Government discussed the new direction of Sino-European relations at the last European Council on 22 March (see EUROPE 12220/1). A new strategy had been proposed by the Commission to strengthen the EU's policy towards Beijing (see EUROPE 12212/20).
Year after year, the EU laments the weak progress made in its relationship with China and the latter's lack of ambition. It is not certain that a joint declaration can be agreed between the two parties. According to a Commission source, the EU would prefer to ignore this text rather than accept a minimalistic language.
Priority to the economy and WTO reform
On the provisional agenda of the summit, European priorities are mainly articulated on two levels. Economic issues are of major importance, with trade between the EU and China amounting to more than €1 billion worth of goods daily. The EU is China's largest trading partner and the EU's second largest trading partner.
At the multilateral level, first of all, both sides will discuss global governance issues. UN and WTO reforms, progress in the G20's work and the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change should be among the other global priorities addressed.
Europeans hope to see the Chinese actively involved in reforming an increasingly obsolete WTO in the face of global trade developments. They would like to address in particular the problem of industrial subsidies and, more broadly, the issue of non-market economy countries, in the framework of the Joint Working Party.
The EU also calls on Beijing to agree to extend the mandate of the World Steel Forum - where the problem of steel overcapacity is discussed - which is coming to an end soon.
The EU for a more balanced bilateral relationship
On the bilateral level, EU leaders will then call on their Chinese counterparts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in order to rebalance the economic relationship.
China is taking full advantage of the opening of the European market to invest in its infrastructure, but is one of the least open economies for foreign direct investments. Europeans will therefore call on China to work towards greater reciprocity, including by ensuring fair and non-discriminatory treatment of European economic operators. To this end, the EU would like to see an acceleration of the talks on a comprehensive investment agreement.
The Europeans would also like to finalise this year the agreement on geographical indications, which has already been ready since last year, but on which China has backed down.
It will also be an opportunity for the EU to call on China to allow it to play an active role in its projects under the New Silk Road.
Seeking a common commitment to climate and the environment
The subject of climate change is also on the provisional agenda, to be addressed as one of the common challenges to be addressed on the international scene, with a view to reconfirming the joint commitment to take action to implement the Paris Agreement. "China is an important partner in the multilateral context and contributes 27% of global emissions", a senior European official said on Friday. "We hope that the subject will remain on the final agenda, but given the number of items to be discussed, the discussion will necessarily be general", said another source.
The willingness to commit to concrete actions was expressed at the exceptional meeting in Paris between President Xi Jinping, his German and French partners and the President of the European Commission on 26 March (see EUROPE 12222/24).
Sino-European cooperation on the environment, circular economy, biodiversity and blue economy is also included in the draft agenda (see EUROPE 12226/18).
Human rights and the rule of law, dividing issues
Human rights and rule of law issues will also be addressed. As in the high-level dialogue on human rights held at the beginning of April, Europeans could recall the universality of human rights and focus, in particular, on the rights of minorities.
International issues, cybersecurity and Asia/Europe connections, influence in Africa and development
Finally, the leaders will discuss foreign policy issues as well as security elements - the situation on the Korean peninsula, Afghanistan, the Venezuelan crisis (see other news), the Iranian nuclear agreement, but also their cooperation in terms of peacekeeping in Africa.
On the sidelines of the summit, an energy dialogue will take place at technical level between Chinese experts and Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete, "particularly on technologies and the preparation of long-term strategies for carbon neutrality", according to a European expert.
European and Chinese leaders will discuss sustainable development and cybersecurity issues, including 5G network security.
The two sides should also agree on terms of reference for a joint study on more sustainable options for the new rail connection between China and Europe.
The Summit will also provide an opportunity to discuss their various initiatives to better connect Europe and Asia, including through the EU-China Connectivity Platform.
European unity also continues to be tested in its relationship with Beijing.
The summit precedes other meetings between China and EU Member States by a few days on 16+1/ECEC in Dubrovnik on Thursday 11 April.
In addition, two 'founding' EU Member States, Italy and Luxembourg, have also recently signed a memorandum with China, with Luxembourg signing a memorandum just four days after Italy, but also cooperation agreements between the two countries' stock exchanges and other financial institutions in China. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel and Aminata Niang)