China-EU relations have been a hot topic in recent days. A few days ago, China also unilaterally tried out visa-free policies for five European countries, including France and Germany. There are various indications that China-EU relations are being further strengthened. It is reported that the EU and China are making final preparations for the summit to be held in Beijing in December, which will be the first face-to-face summit between China and Europe in four years. According to the latest news, this year’s China-EU Summit will be held in Beijing on December 7th. At that time, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, President of the European Council will attend the meeting together. In addition, the European side will hold a media briefing before the summit on December 4.
At the regular press conferences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 30th and December 1st, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin answered a series of questions raised by journalists from major media about the recent Sino-EU trade relations. He said that “going to risk” and “reducing dependence” should not be changed into “going to cooperate” and “lowering the level”. It is hoped that the EU will take a comprehensive and objective view of China’s development and domestic and foreign policies, pursue a rational and pragmatic China policy, promote mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and the EU, and jointly meet global challenges. China and Europe are partners, not rivals. China-EU cooperation is a positive cycle of mutual achievement, not a knockout round where you lose and I win. The Chinese side believes that the most important risk to be removed is the opposition brought about by pan-politicization, and the most important dependence to be reduced is to return to the “hotbed” of protectionism at every turn.
In Europe, President Ursula von der Leyen and President Michelle both mentioned China on limited occasions. President Ursula von der Leyen, who attended COP28 in Dubai on December 1st, mentioned China’s efforts in tackling climate change. It is reported that some European media describe next week’s summit as full of “challenges”. The report believes that the EU’s countervailing investigation on electric vehicles in China has cast a tense atmosphere over China-EU relations. China automobile is also expanding in the European market. According to statistics, 26 China electric vehicle brands plan to enter the German market.
Therefore, whether the China-EU summit can ease bilateral relations has become the focus of attention of all parties. We will wait and see how China-EU relations will develop after this week’s summit.
Post time: Dec-05-2023