Latest news with #EU-China
Business Recorder
43 minutes ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
EU's von der Leyen hopes to ‘advance and rebalance' China ties at summit
BEIJING: European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday's EU-China summit is an opportunity to 'both advance and rebalance our relationship', hours before talks with Chinese leaders in Beijing. Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will raise thorny issues such as the trade imbalance, rare earths and Ukraine during meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. 'I'm convinced there can be a mutually beneficial cooperation,' von der Leyen wrote in an X post on Thursday, striking a more conciliatory tone after the weeks leading up to the summit were dominated by tit-for-tat trade disputes and hawkish rhetoric from European officials. State news agency Xinhua also appeared to downplay Beijing's rivalry with the 27-member bloc in a morning commentary, saying China is a 'critical partner' to Europe with a range of shared interests. 'As the international landscape grows increasingly fraught, the anniversary offers a timely reminder: China is a critical partner to Europe, not a systemic rival,' Xinhua wrote, pointing out common interests including trade, climate, and global governance. 'These areas of common ground should not be eclipsed by isolated points of friction,' it said. The EU defines China as a 'partner, competitor and systemic rival', which frames its strategic approach to China policy. Other issues, including electric vehicles, market access and Chinese industrial overcapacity, will also be raised by European leaders at the summit marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China. Expectations for the summit are low after weeks of escalating tensions and wrangling over the format of the summit, which was abruptly shortened from two days to one at Beijing's request. Trump may travel to China to meet Xi in 'not-too-distant future' 'Like all major economic players, China and the EU do not agree on everything. But disagreement does not equal confrontation,' Xinhua said, adding that the relationship needs more trust. The EU is likely to seal a trade deal with the United States that would result in a broad 15% tariff on EU exports to the U.S. after intense negotiations, avoiding a harsher 30% levy threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Euronews
44 minutes ago
- Business
- Euronews
Trade issues on the table at scaled-back EU-China summit in China
European leaders were pushing for rebalancing trade at the EU-China summit with President Xi Jinping on Thursday. Focusing their opening remarks on trade, they called for concrete progress to address Europe's yawning trade deficit with China. "As our cooperation has deepened, so have the imbalances," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "We have reached an inflection point. Rebalancing our bilateral relations is essential. Because to be sustainable, relations need to be mutually beneficial." Expectations were low for the talks, initially supposed to last two days but scaled back to one. They come amid financial uncertainty around the world, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the threat of US tariffs. Neither the EU nor China is likely to budge on key issues dividing the two economic juggernauts. European Council President António Costa called on China to use its influence over Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine — a long-running plea from European leaders that is likely to fall on deaf ears. He signalled a possible agreement on climate, saying he looks forward to "a strong joint political message" from the summit ahead of annual UN climate talks in November in Brazil. That could follow their talks with China's Premier Li Qiang later Thursday. Xi called on China and Europe to deepen cooperation and mutual trust to provide stability in an increasingly complex international environment, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported online. They should set aside differences and seek common ground, he said, a phrase he often uses in relationships like the one with the EU. Treading carefully not to get too close Besides the trade imbalance and the Ukraine war, Von der Leyen and Costa were expected to raise concerns about Chinese cyberattacks and espionage, its restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals and its human rights record in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The EU, meanwhile, has concerns about a looming trade battle with the United States. "Europe is being very careful not to antagonise President Trump even further by looking maybe too close to China, so all of that doesn't make this summit easier," said Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist of the European Policy Centre. "It will be very hard to achieve something concrete." China's stance has hardened on the EU, despite a few olive branches, like the suspension of sanctions on European lawmakers who criticised Beijing's human rights record in Xinjiang, a region in northwestern China home to the Uyghurs. China believes it has successfully weathered the US tariffs storm because of its aggressive posture, said Noah Barkin, an analyst at the Rhodium Group think tank. Barkin said that Beijing's bold tactics that worked with Washington should work with other Western powers. "China has come away emboldened from its trade confrontation with Trump. That has reduced its appetite for making concessions to the EU," he said. "Now that Trump has backed down, China sees less of a need to woo Europe." China is the EU's second-largest trading partner in goods, after the United States, with about 30% of global trade flowing between them. Both China and the EU want to use their economies ties to stabilise the global economy, and they share some climate goals. But deep disagreements run through those overlapping interests. Division on trade China and the EU have multiple trade disputes across a range of industries, but no disagreement is as sharp as their enormous trade imbalance. Like the US, the 27-nation bloc runs a massive trade deficit with China — around €300 billion last year. It relies heavily on China for critical minerals, which are also used to make magnets for cars and appliances. When China curtailed the export of those minerals in the wake of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, European automakers cried foul. The EU has tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in order to support its own carmakers by balancing out Beijing's own heavy auto subsidies. China would like those tariffs to be revoked. The rapid growth in China's market share in Europe has sparked concern that Chinese cars will eventually threaten the EU's ability to produce its own green technology to combat climate change. Business groups and unions also fear that the jobs of 2.5 million auto industry workers could be put in jeopardy, as well as those of 10.3 million more people whose employment depends indirectly on EV production. China has also launched investigations into European pork and dairy products, and placed tariffs on French cognac and armagnac. They have criticised new EU regulations of medical equipment sales, and fear upcoming legislation that could further target Chinese industries, said Alicia García-Herrero, a China analyst at the Bruegel think tank. In June, the EU announced that Chinese medical equipment companies were to be excluded from any government purchases of more than €5 million (nearly $6 million). The measure seeks to incentivise China to cease its discrimination against EU firms, the bloc said, accusing China of erecting "significant and recurring legal and administrative barriers to its procurement market." European companies are largely seeing declining profitability in China. But the EU has leverage because China still needs to sell goods to the bloc, García-Herrero said. "The EU remains China's largest export market, so China has every intention to keep it this way, especially given the pressure coming from the U.S.," she said. It was unclear why the initial plan for the summit of two days was curtailed to just one in Beijing. War on Europe's doorstep The clear majority of Europeans favour increasing aid to Ukraine and more sanctions on Russia. The latest sanctions package on Russia also listed Chinese firms, including two large banks that the EU accused of being linked to Russia's war industry. China's commerce ministry said that it was "strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to" the listing and vowed to respond with "necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and financial institutions." Xi and Putin have had a close relationship, which is also reflected in the countries' ties. China has become a major customer for Russian oil and gas, and a source of key technologies following sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow. In May, Xi attended a Victory Day celebration alongside Putin in Moscow, but didn't attend a similar EU event in Brussels celebrating the end of World War II. Von der Leyen and Costa will press Xi and Li to slash their support of Russia, but with likely little effect. Beyond Beijing and Washington Buffeted between a combative Washington and a hard-line Beijing, the EU has more publicly sought new alliances elsewhere, inking a trade pact with Indonesia, heaping praise on Japan and drafting trade deals with South America and Mexico. "We also know that 87% of global trade is with other countries — many of them looking for stability and opportunity. That is why I am here for this visit to Japan to deepen our ties," Von der Leyen said in Tokyo during an EU-Japan summit on her way to Beijing. "Both Europe and Japan see a world around us where protectionist instincts grow, weaknesses get weaponised, and every dependency exploited. So it is normal that two like-minded partners come together to make each other stronger." Promoting ties with Europe is one third of Japan's new 2025 military doctrine, after sustaining defence links with the US and investing in capabilities at home like missiles, satellites, warships, and drones.
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Business
- Euronews
WATCH: Will China and EU agree on anything at Beijing summit?
Chinese President Xi Jinping said today's summit offers a chance to "properly handle frictions and differences, and open up a brighter future for China-EU relations." But Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa are carrying a bag full of challenges into the negotiation chamber in Beijing. Friction points range from cyberattacks against state agencies to human rights violations, with Beijing's "no-limits" partnership with Moscow and the trade imbalances caused by industrial overcapacity standing out. Euronews' Europe Today will crunch through tricky topics as presenter Mared Gwyn navigates you through the issues with correspondents, and takes the pulse of EU-China relations in an exclusive interview with former Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Watch Europe Today here on Euronews at 8am.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Von Der Leyen Tells Xi EU-China Ties Are at ‘Inflection Point'
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the bloc's ties with his country 'have reached an inflection point,' opening a summit shadowed by tensions spanning trade to the war in Ukraine. 'As our cooperation has deepened, so have the imbalances,' von der Leyen said on Thursday, according to her prepared remarks. 'Rebalancing our bilateral relation is essential. Because to be sustainable, the relations need to be mutually beneficial.' The first in-person EU-China summit since 2023 is exposing a divide between the bloc and Beijing just months after earlier signs of a possible detente. In his opening remarks, Xi said their ties are 'at a historical juncture,' urging stronger trust and communication amid global uncertainty, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The messages come as the two sides mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. The meeting has been cut short from two days to one at Beijing's request, Bloomberg News has reported, with the venue changed from Brussels to the Chinese capital after Xi refused to travel to Europe for the talks. Von der Leyen and the head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, met the Chinese leader following the EU's summit with Japan held in Tokyo Wednesday. While there are no plans to issue a joint communique, the EU intends to release a statement listing the main messages it delivered, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The two sides are also preparing a landmark declaration on climate cooperation. Top officials will sign the document in Beijing on Thursday, according to people familiar with the plans, likely committing both parties to further emissions cuts and to deliver their climate plans to the United Nations before the COP30 summit in Brazil later this year. The tensions on display this week contrast with hope at the height of the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump for China to repair ties with the EU. Back then, Beijing appeared to be positioning itself as a more reliable partner as Trump alienated the bloc. Now, deep disagreements are once again marring the relationship. The strains flared into view in April with Beijing's decision to impose export controls on rare earth magnets, which shook European car companies and other sectors. Brussels also takes issue with what it considers as Beijing's support for Moscow. The EU on Friday sanctioned two Chinese banks and five China-based companies as part of its latest measures against Russia. Trade ties are another source of frustration. The Asian nation's goods trade surplus reached almost $143 billion in the first half of this year, a record for any six-month period, according to data released last week. The EU inflamed trade tensions when it imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year in a bid to ward off a flood of cheap imports. In response, China launched anti-dumping probes into European brandy, dairy and pork. 'I don't think that any of us are too optimistic in terms of any sort of grand agreement being reached — and I don't think that this is really what we should aspire to,' Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said on Bloomberg TV Thursday. The 50th anniversary of ties offers an opportunity to ask how to 'ensure that we have a relationship going forward that continues to deliver benefits from both sides,' he said. 'And what we are seeing right now is this increase in trade tension and this perception in particular in Europe, that the benefits of the relationship are no longer being distributed in an equitable manner.' With assistance from Iain Rogers, Jorge Valero, Fran Wang, David Ingles, Yvonne Man and John Ainger. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Saudi Gazette
2 hours ago
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
EU-China summit kicks off under shadow of fraught ties
SINGAPORE — A summit between China and the European Union (EU) has kicked off in Beijing on Thursday, with leaders set to discuss issues ranging from trade conflict to the war in Ukraine. Expectations have been tempered however by uncertainty over global trade, politics and the attendance of Chinese President Xi Jinping, after he had earlier reportedly declined a visit to Brussels, where the summit was originally to be held. China confirmed this week that Xi would meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa in Beijing. Optimism had surrounded EU-China relations at the start of the year, with hopes that a Donald Trump presidency in the US would bring the two economic powerhouses closer. But months on, EU-China ties are more fraught than before. The summit is an opportunity for the EU and China to "advance and rebalance" their relationship, Von der Leyen wrote on X shortly after arriving in Beijing. "I'm convinced there can be a mutually beneficial cooperation... One that can define the next 50 years of our relations," she said. Her words echo the image of hope that both sides have projected ahead of the summit. EU officials had said that they were ready for frank conversations, while Chinese officials had framed it as a chance for greater collaboration. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had told reporters on Tuesday that the bilateral relationship was at a "critical juncture of building on past achievements and opening up a new chapter". But despite this, there is little optimism in Brussels that anything significant will emerge from the summit, even though the EU's 27 member states are grappling with similar pressures to China, not least the tariffs imposed on their exports to the US. There had been hope of finding common cause and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke earlier this month of the EU's relationship with Beijing as "one of the most defining and consequential for the rest of this century" and of the need to making progress on deadlocked issues. But President Xi's decision to reject an invitation to Brussels earlier this year, and then to show up in Moscow in May for Russia's annual World War Two victory parade, made for a poor start. Engin Eroglu, who chairs the European Parliament's China delegation, believes that an already fragile trust between China and the EU has reached a new low: "In this atmosphere of strategic mistrust, the mood is clearly tense - if not frosty." One of the main things that has led to the deterioration of relations between the two giants is the issue of the Russia-Ukraine war. The EU's decision to impose sanctions last week on two Chinese banks for their role in supplying Russia has annoyed Beijing in the run-up to this summit and made for an awkward climate. China said it had lodged "solemn representations" to the EU's trade chief ahead of the summit. And reports that Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi allegedly told EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas this month that Beijing did not want to see Russia lose the war in Ukraine - contradicting China's official position of neutrality - have also been circulating. Wang Yi reportedly said that the Russia-Ukraine war would keep the US distracted from its rivalry with China - something Beijing has denied. Kallas had earlier this year called China the "key enabler of Russia's war" in Ukraine, adding that "if China would want to really stop the support, then it would have an impact". After the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles last year, Beijing came up with retaliatory duties on European liquor. And this month, Beijing restricted government purchases of EU medical devices - a response to the EU imposing similar limitations on Chinese medical equipment in June. And perhaps more importantly, China also raised export controls on rare earths and critical minerals this year and the European Commission's von der Leyen has accused Beijing of using its "quasi-monopoly" on the global market in rare earths as a weapon to undermine competitors in key industries. Europe is already frustrated by seeing its industries threatened by cheap, subsidised Chinese goods. Last year's trade deficit with China was €305.8bn ($360bn; £265bn) and it has doubled in just nine years. In an earlier interview with Chinese state-linked news outlet the Paper, China's ambassador to the European Union Cai Run took issue with the EU's positioning of China as a "partner for co-operation, economic competitor, and systemic rival". "The EU's threefold positioning of China is like a traffic light going green, amber and red lights all at once. Not only does it fail to direct traffic, it only creates difficulties and obstruction." — BBC
