
EU tells China ties have ‘reached inflection point' at tense Beijing summit
'The current challenges facing Europe do not come from China,' state news agency Xinhua quoted the Chinese leader telling European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa on Thursday.
The summit marks 50 years of the establishment of EU-China ties.
Expectations are muted as the summit is being held under the shadow of growing trade tensions and hawkish EU rhetoric towards Beijing.
Ms von der Leyen earlier this month accused China of using its manufacturing overcapacity to flood global markets and of 'enabling Russia's war economy'.
The two sides differ significantly on the Ukraine war as China backs Russia's position on the conflict while the EU provides military, economic and diplomatic support to Kyiv.
In addition to Mr Xi, Ms von der Leyen and Mr Costa are expected to meet premier Li Qiang, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Mr Xi urged the EU officials at the summit to "adhere to open cooperation and properly handle differences and frictions" after Ms von der Leyen warned that the bloc's ties with China were at an 'inflection point' and called for a rebalancing of trade ties with the world's second largest economy.
'Improving competitiveness can't rely on 'building walls and fortresses'. 'Decoupling and breaking chains' will only result in isolation,' Mr Xi added, according to Xinhua.
He also urged the European leaders to "make correct strategic choices" in a veiled criticism of their recent hawkish stances on China.
'It is hoped the European side will keep the trade and investment market open and refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools," he said, reiterating China's position on global trade in the wake of America's imposition of sweeping tariffs on almost all major countries.
The EU delegation was expected to bring up the subject of electric vehicles and Beijing's export controls on rare earths. The controls temporarily stopped European automotive production lines when they were first announced in May in response to the US tariffs.
The EU, meanwhile, has targeted Chinese exports of electric vehicles, among other goods, over the last year and its officials have repeatedly complained about Chinese industrial overcapacity.
'As our cooperation has deepened, so have imbalances,' Ms von der Leyen told the Chinese president during the meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
'We have reached an inflection point,' she added, asking China to 'come forward with real solutions'.
The EU's trade deficit with China surged to a historic high of £265bn last year.
In spite of their differences, Beijing and Brussels agreed on a joint statement on climate, an area of mutual cooperation.
They agreed to strengthen climate action, signalling renewed cooperation between two of the world's largest polluters at a time of rising global tensions and waning US leadership. They committed to submit new 2035 climate targets, scale up renewable energy, and deepen cooperation on methane, adaptation and green technology ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
'This joint statement sends an important signal that climate cooperation can still rise above geopolitical tensions,' said David Waskow, international climate director at the World Resources Institute.
'Stronger leadership from these two major emitters is critically needed to rekindle global momentum after the US stepped away from the Paris Agreement again.'
Climate advocates said the pledge could help stabilise the multilateral process but warned that concrete ambition was still lacking.
'The EU–China statement sends a timely message,' Andreas Seiber of 350.org told The Independent. 'But the level of ambition remains far too low… aligning with the 1.5C limit requires urgent, credible action, especially with COP30 fast approaching.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
The pub and bar chain thriving thanks to warm weather
Mitchells & Butlers, the pub and bar group, reported a significant boost in customer numbers and strong performance. The owner of Toby Carvery and All Bar One saw like-for-like sales increase by 5 per cent in the quarter ending 19 July. This growth was partly attributed to recent sunny weather and Easter, with both food and drink sales climbing by nearly 5 per cent. Despite facing cost inflation challenges, the company anticipates its annual results will reach the "top end" of industry forecasts. M&B has converted or remodelled 150 venues and opened two new sites this year, though its shares experienced a slight dip in early trading.


Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil prices ease to 3-week low as negative economic news offsets trade optimism
NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased to a three-week low on Friday on negative economic news from the United States and China and signs of growing supply despite optimism U.S. trade deals could boost global economic growth and oil demand in the future. Brent crude futures fell 76 cents, or 1.1%, to $68.42 a barrel by 1:44 p.m. EDT (1744 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 91 cents, or 1.4%, to $65.12. That put Brent on track for its lowest close since July 4 and WTI on track for its lowest close since June 30. For the week, Brent was down about 1% and WTI down about 3%. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday in Scotland after European Union officials and diplomats said they expected to reach a framework trade deal this weekend. The euro zone economy has remained resilient to the pervasive uncertainty caused by a global trade war, a slew of data showed on Friday, even as European Central Bank policymakers appeared to temper market bets on no more rate cuts. In the U.S., meanwhile, new orders for U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in June while shipments of those products increased moderately, suggesting that business spending on equipment slowed considerably in the second quarter. Trump said on Friday that he had a good meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and got the impression that the head of the U.S. central bank might be ready to lower interest rates. Central banks, like the Fed or ECB, use interest rates to keep inflation in check. Lower interest rates reduce consumer borrowing costs and can boost economic growth and demand for oil. In China, the world's second biggest economy, fiscal revenue dipped 0.3% in the first six months from a year earlier, the finance ministry said on Friday, maintaining the rate of decline seen between January and May. The U.S. is preparing to allow partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA ( starting with U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, to operate with limitations in the sanctioned nation, sources said on Thursday. That could boost Venezuelan oil exports by a little more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), which would be welcome news for U.S. refiners, as it would ease tightness in the heavier crude market, ING analysts wrote. In the Middle East, Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran last month. Venezuela and Iran are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Any deal that could increase the amount of oil either sanctioned country could export would boost the amount of crude available to global markets. A meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which includes top ministers from OPEC and allies like Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is scheduled for 1200 GMT on Monday. Four OPEC+ sources told Reuters the meeting was unlikely to alter the group's existing policy, which calls for eight members to raise output by 548,000 bpd in August. In Russia, the world's second biggest crude oil producer behind the U.S., daily oil exports from its western ports are set to be around 1.77 million bpd in August, down from 1.93 million bpd in July's plan, amid the expected rise in refinery runs, Reuters calculations based on data from two sources show. In the U.S., energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the 12th time in 13 weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.


Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
US, China confront each other on Ukraine at United Nations
UNITED NATIONS, July 25 (Reuters) - The United States told China at the United Nations on Friday it should "stop fueling Russia's aggression" in Ukraine, as China accused Washington of trying to shift blame and spark confrontation. Acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea urged all countries, specifically naming China, to stop exports to Russia of dual-use goods that Washington says contribute to Russia's war industrial base and enable its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine. 'Beijing's claim to have implemented strong export controls on dual-use goods falls apart in the face of daily recovery of Chinese-produced components in the drones, weapons, and vehicles that Russia uses against Ukraine,' Shea told a meeting of the 15-member U.N. Security Council on Ukraine. China did not start the war in Ukraine, is not a party to the conflict, has never provided lethal weapons, and has always 'strictly controlled dual-use materials, including the export of drones,' China's deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang responded. 'We urge the U.S. to stop shifting blame on the Ukraine issue or creating confrontation and instead play a more constructive role in promoting ceasefire and peace talks,' he told the council. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Chinese-made engines are being covertly shipped via front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia, labeled as "industrial refrigeration units" to avoid detection in the wake of Western sanctions. "If China is sincere in calling for peace, it should stop fueling Russia's aggression," Shea said.