China ready to turn its attention to Europe in 2020, as US trade deal gets closer

After a year of intense focus on its relations with Washington, Beijing is preparing for a renewal of its ties with the EU

A series of engagements are planned with Brussels next year, starting with a bilateral summit in April

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in Beijing earlier this month. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:00am, 26 Nov 2019Updated: 2:46am, 26 Nov 2019

China is preparing to turn its attention more fully to Europe next year, intensifying its engagement with the European Union even as it hammers out the terms of an interim trade deal with the United States.

Diplomatic sources noted progress on Beijing-Brussels ties this month with the signing of a long-awaited “geographical indication” agreement to improve protection for 100 regionally specific products, despite the “huge pressure” from the US on China not to sign the deal because of its impact on US exports.

Dialogue between Beijing and Brussels had been largely sidelined this year by the intensive trade negotiations between China and the United States, the diplomats said, pointing to the cancellation in September of high-level face-to-face talks in Europe.

But the situation changed with French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China in the first week of November, which “really made a difference”, according to one source.

State news agency Xinhua credited the signing of the geographical indication agreement to “the joint push” by Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping.