In a telephone call on Tuesday 14 January, just a few days before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump (see other news), the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, recalled their “robust” economic relationship.
The two sides discussed the 50th anniversary of EU-China relations in 2025 and the desire to organise an EU-China Summit “later in the year”, without giving any further details at this stage.
According to a European Council statement issued after the telephone exchange, cooperation between the EU and China “would send a positive signal for global peace, stability and prosperity”. In particular, President Costa stressed the importance of working together to tackle global challenges such as climate change.
President Xi outlined several areas of cooperation, such as the green and digital transition, and called for “a mutually beneficial resolution to the dispute over electric vehicles” (see EUROPE 13521/8).
Mr Costa, for his part, stressed the importance of rebalancing existing trade and economic imbalances, as well as contributing to lasting peace in Ukraine. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)