Editorial | Xi provides positive vision for China and EU relations in talks
- Expectations may have been low for first in-person summit in four years, but meeting showed need to find common ground
The leaders of China and the European Union have just had their first in-person summit for four years. It is now 20 years since the two sides formed a comprehensive strategic partnership.
They still have not completed a historic investment treaty, agreed to in principle by the leaders three years ago, but derailed in the European Parliament over alleged human rights abuses and tit-for-tat sanctions.
China-EU relations remain complicated by core issues such as trade practices, market access, a ballooning trade imbalance in China’s favour and the Ukraine war.
As a result, expectations of the summit were low. But that did not prevent President Xi Jinping presenting the presidents of the European Commission and Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel respectively, with a positive vision of bilateral relations that put aside differences and contrasting systems of governance.
“China is promoting high-quality development and high-level opening-up, and will view the EU as a key partner – a prioritised partner in technology cooperation, and a trustworthy partner in industrial and supply chain cooperation,” Xi said, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry.
“The economies of China and Europe highly complement each other. Both sides should make more efforts to tighten the bonds of the China-EU community of shared interests through deeper and broader cooperation.”
