The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, tried to press for fair competition between the European Union and China during a trilateral exchange on Monday 6 May with the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, who was on a state visit to Paris.
Referring to the importance and complexity of trade relations between the EU and China, Ms von der Leyen sought to demonstrate her firm stance to her Chinese counterpart: “Europe will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and security”.
Emmanuel Macron, for his part, acknowledged that the future of the European continent “will also depend on our ability to continue to develop relations with China in a balanced way”.
Economic and trade relations
These tense trade relations between the EU and China have been illustrated in recent weeks by a series of investigations launched by the European Commission under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation.
The latest case concerns suspicions of unfair access to the Chinese market by domestic suppliers of medical devices (see EUROPE 13398/2).
Other investigations have also targeted Chinese subsidies in the wind turbine, electric train, solar panel and electric vehicle sectors (see EUROPE 13365/17).
During this exchange, the President of the Commission encouraged the Chinese government to tackle the structural overcapacity of subsidised Chinese products flooding the European market.
On several occasions, China has voiced its dissatisfaction and accused the European Union of adopting protectionist measures.
In a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry after the trilateral meeting and relayed by AFP, Xi Jinping said that “China’s overcapacity problem does not exist” and that the country had even “enriched global supply and eased global inflationary pressure and has also made great contributions to the global response to climate change”.
In addition to the issue of subsidised Chinese products, the President of the European Commission once again called for fair market access conditions for both sides, not ruling out “full use of our trade defence instruments, if necessary”.
She also reiterated her commitment to ‘de-risking’, which means reducing excessive dependency and diversifying supply chains.
“Our market is and remains open to fair competition and investment, but it is not good for Europe if this harms our security and makes us vulnerable”, she concluded.
Global peace and security
On the geopolitical front, Xi Jinping recognised the importance of deepening strategic communication between the EU and China “with a view to promoting a healthy and stable environment for Sino-European relations and making a new contribution to world peace and development”.
With regard to the war in Ukraine, Ms von der Leyen said that she was counting on China to use its influence on Russia, particularly in de-escalating Russia’s nuclear threats.
She also spoke of the situation in the Middle East, mentioning in particular her concerns about the direct threat posed by Iran to the stability of the region in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On this point, “we believe that China can play an important role in limiting the irresponsible proliferation of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones”, she stressed. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)