During their visit to Beijing for the 24th EU-China summit on Thursday 7 December, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said they were “satisfied” with the exchanges with Chinese officials, and this despite the low expectations of substantial announcements in the field of trade and investment. They also reaffirmed the EU’s position on geopolitical and global challenges, such as the war in Ukraine and the fight against climate change.
Trade
Discussions focused on the imbalance in trade relations, the European deficit with China, unfair competition in certain technology sectors and the sanctions imposed on several Chinese manufacturers.
The EU took the gamble of strongly expressing its concerns about unfair trade practices from Beijing, and this meeting was an opportunity to “promote our values and protect our interests”, in the words of Charles Michel.
While the discussions between the leaders remained fairly wide-ranging, they appear to have paved the way for “detailed” exchanges in the future, during further ‘high-level dialogues’.
“ We had a frank and open discussion on the reasons for the imbalance in our trade relations”, said the President of the Commission. “These causes are well known, and European countries are not in a position to tolerate our industry being undermined by unfair competition”.
Ursula von der Leyen then reiterated the need for the EU to guard against situations of dependence while remaining a reliable and essential partner for China.
“China considers the EU to be a key partner in trade, a priority partner in technological cooperation and a trustworthy partner in industrial cooperation and the supply chain”, said Xi Jinping, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.
“The economies of China and Europe are highly complementary. The two sides should redouble their efforts to strengthen the bonds of the China-EU community of common interests through deeper and broader cooperation”.
On the issue of sanctions and their possible circumvention by Chinese companies, Ursula von der Leyen stated that European concerns had been “expressed and, we hope, heard” during the exchange with the Chinese Prime Minister.
Ukraine
With regard to the heightened geopolitical tensions around the world, Charles Michel reiterated the responsibility of the European Union and China to work towards peace and stability in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter.
“We strongly encourage China to engage constructively in Ukraine’s peace formula. Russia continues to look for ways to access technology to power its war. Once again, we insisted that China should not supply military tools to Russia”, he declared.
The European leaders also called on China to prevent any attempt by Russia to circumvent or weaken the impact of the sanctions.
“We’ve been clear since the start of the war. The way in which China positions itself with regard to Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine will also define our EU-China relationship”, said Mrs von der Leyen.
Middle East
On the subject of the war in the Middle East, the EU reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Both parties agreed on the importance of protecting all civilians, improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza and implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2712, which calls for the release of hostages held by Hamas, urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip. The EU and China then confirmed their commitment to the two-state solution.
Taiwan Strait
The President of the European Council also explained that the situation in Asia was being closely monitored and that the EU had expressed its concern about growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
“As you know, we are opposed to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion. We also maintain our position of recognising the ‘One China’ policy”, he declared.
Human rights
A discussion on respect for human rights was also expected from the leaders (see EUROPE 13299/21).
Charles Michel reiterated the EU’s concerns about the systematic violation of human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet. The leaders also highlighted the continuing erosion of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.
However, Ms von der Leyen welcomed the resumption of the human rights dialogue in February 2023. The next dialogue could take place in 2024 in China, as hoped by the EU.
Climate
Discussions also focused at length on the global response to climate change. The leaders welcomed the recent agreement to continue work on emissions trading and the circular economy.
In the context of the ongoing COP28 (see EUROPE 13308/6), the EU has called on China to join the global commitment to triple renewable energy capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030 (see EUROPE 13306/6) as well as to join the global methane commitment (see EUROPE 13306/7).
However, Ms von der Leyen said she was very concerned about the development of coal-fired power stations in China and called for the country to adopt a strong stance against “non-abated” fossil fuels (see EUROPE 13273/5). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre and Pauline Denys)