China courts EU ahead of key summit, but strategic frictions loom

Euractiv

2 days ago

Caution, urgency, and optimism are framing the mood ahead of the July EU-China summit commemorating 50 years of diplomatic relations.
The 2025 China-Europe Business Forum, held in Brussels by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU in June, offered a vivid preview of what is at stake – and how both sides are setting the stage.
'Openness and free trade continue to be the strong desires for many businesses everywhere – from China to Europe and beyond,' said Chinese Ambassador Fei Shengchao, warning against the global drift towards protectionism.
'Globalisation is a historical trend following the laws of the economy, with market forces as its major driver, whether people like it or not,' Fei argued.
Areas of interest
Yet, across Europe, the political appetite for market openness is increasingly filtered through the lens of strategic autonomy and de-risking.
The ambassador highlighted that China's economy maintained robust growth last year, adding that the country 'will continue its policy of high-level opening-up, further improve the business environment, and drive innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors'.
But can this message persuade European policymakers wary of industrial overcapacity and state subsidies?
Partners, not competitors
CCCEU Chairman Liu Jiandong struck a conciliatory tone, insisting that 'China and Europe are partners rather than competitors', with 'tightly connected markets and intertwined interests'.
'There are significant synergies in clean energy, the circular economy, artificial intelligence, and smart manufacturing,' Liu continued. 'The 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties injects new momentum, offering a vital platform for deepening cooperation in trade, technology, and green transformation.'
But whether the upcoming summit will deliver this momentum – or be eclipsed by unresolved frictions – remains to be seen.
Need for collaboration
Liu Yu, Minister Counsellor at the Chinese Mission to the EU, called the 50th anniversary a 'historic milestone', emphasising that 'economic and trade cooperation [is] both a cornerstone and engine for development'.
'China stands ready to work with the EU to properly manage differences through dialogue,' Liu said, promising to 'jointly safeguard multilateral trade systems, and oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism'.
From the European side, former Portuguese Minister for Labour Maria João Rodrigues appealed to shared historical experience, observing that 'China's peaceful rise stands as a testament to what great nations can accomplish through determination and vision'.
She called for deeper coordination in a changing global order: 'In our increasingly multipolar world, enhanced cooperation between Europe and China is not just beneficial but essential for effective global governance.'
The forum, the summit, the future
The forum, which gathered more than 150 participants from across business, academia, and policy circles, ended with a show of consensus and goodwill.
Yet the central question remains: can rhetoric rooted in shared opportunity overcome the structural divergences now shaping EU-China economic relations?
Alicja Bachulska, policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), argues that while China remains the EU's top source of imports, Brussels' capacity to shape Beijing's behaviour has been hindered by a lack of strategic unity and credibility.
Chinese policymakers have grown accustomed to dismissing European objections – grounded in concerns over overcapacity, market access, raw-materials restrictions, and China's implicit backing of Russia in Ukraine.
Recent gestures from China, such as easing certain MEP sanctions and resolving a French cognac dispute, are seen as superficial concessions rather than meaningful shifts.
Bachulska contends that the EU must adopt a firmer stance at the forthcoming summit, projecting a distinct economic agenda rather than echoing United States policy.
The bloc now possesses a robust toolkit – its anti-coercion instrument, investment screening, export controls, and trade-defence mechanisms – capable of challenging 'unjust' Chinese practices.
She warns that unless Beijing takes European concerns seriously, the EU should be prepared to deploy these tools, marking a test of whether Europe is finally 'taken seriously in China'.
As the summit approaches, one thing is clear: the next chapter of this relationship will be defined not only by words exchanged in Brussels or Beijing but by the political and economic choices both sides are now making.
[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab ]