EditorialRhetoric aside, China and the EU need each other more than ever
- Whether it is finding a vaccine to protect against Covid-19, strengthening multilateralism or shoring up economic growth and development, they know they need to cooperate and work together
The first meeting of China’s leaders with their new European Union counterparts was unusual in every respect. With the Covid-19 pandemic preventing in-person discussions, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang spoke separately by video link to presidents Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission and Charles Michel of the European Council.
The talks had been postponed since March and the health and economic crisis coupled with challenging relations ensured that expectations were low and the pundits proved correct; the encounter on Monday ended with no joint statement or news conference and both sides producing markedly different narratives of what occurred.
In fraught times, competition between big powers is bound to intensify, but for all the rivalry, in this particular case there is also the reality that given the pressures, each needs the other, particularly now.
Relations between China and the EU have been tense since March last year, when the commission determined that Beijing was a “systemic rival”, even though it also referred to it as an economic partner.
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United States President Donald Trump’s “America first” policy and his feuding with China had already put the EU in a difficult situation and that has been mounting, particularly over the use of equipment by the Chinese technology firm Huawei in 5G telecommunications networks.