During the first in-person meeting between the two nations in four years, Chinese President Xi Jinping advised senior European Union officials against seeing each other as enemies or getting into disputes over their differing political systems.
While the topics of discussion ranged from trade imbalances to Ukraine, Xi made it clear that China is eager to work with the EU on a variety of avenues, including economics, commerce, and science and technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI).
According to Reuters, Chinese official media outlet CCTV reports that during the meeting at Beijing's Diaoyutai official Guesthouse, he also asked the EU to "eliminate all kinds of interference" from the bilateral relationship.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China CPC Central Committee and Chinese president, attends the CPC and World Political Parties Summit and delivers a keynote speech in Beijing, capital of China, July 6, 2021.
Choose Peace, Not War
On Monday, December 4, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned EU diplomats working in Beijing that Europe should choose peace and stability over a new Cold War.
Earlier this week, a European official informed media in Brussels that the meeting would not culminate in any outstanding deliverables and that a joint statement would not be issued.
Italy has notified China that it is withdrawing from the Belt and Road Initiative, which is spearheaded by Xi, based on Italian government sources who spoke with Reuters on Wednesday, December 6. This decision is seen as another setback for EU-China ties.
Despite many visits by EU commissioners to Beijing after China reduced its border restrictions this year, the fundamental issues in the relationship have not been resolved.
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Appeal to Beijing
Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will also be met during the one-day visit by Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, Charles Michel, and Ursula von der Leyen, presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, respectively. Before next year's European Parliament elections begin, which will cause changes in the bloc's leadership, this will be their last opportunity to meet face-to-face with key Chinese officials.
The EU is hoping that Beijing can use its influence over Russia to end the conflict with Ukraine. Xi will mainly be urged to prevent Chinese private enterprises from supplying European-made dual-use equipment to Russia for their military operations.
Additionally, EU officials are worried about the imbalanced economic connections, claiming that the trade gap between China and the EU, which is close to €400 billion ($431.7 billion), is a result of Chinese restrictions on EU companies.
The European Union's de-risking strategy to lessen its dependence on Chinese imports, especially of vital raw resources, and an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric cars were both met with resistance from China.
To restore China's image in the West after relations worsened during the outbreak of COVID-19 and to encourage post-pandemic tourism, China also granted visa-free admission to nationals of the EU's five biggest economies.
Those in charge of the EU's climate change and biodiversity initiatives have suggested that the two regions work together more closely.
