EU leaders discuss need to ‘rebalance’ relations with China, at first talks about Beijing in a year
- China had slipped down the agenda of Tuesday’s talks after Afghanistan and the Aukus defence pact were added as discussion points at a late stage.
- Lithuanian officials hoped the talks in Slovenia would result in ‘economic solidarity’ from the EU, amid a simmering row with Beijing
In their first talks on China for a full year, leaders of the European Union’s 27 member states discussed the need to “rebalance” the bloc’s relationship with Beijing, according to an EU official who was present.
For months, the EU’s deteriorating relationship with China was to be the headline topic of discussion among the 27 national leaders at a dinner on an estate near the Slovenian capital Ljubljana.
But the scope was broadened late in the planning stage, with Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific joining China on the agenda for an informal meeting on Tuesday night.
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The informal talks focused on “the EU’s role on the international stage”, with China discussed within that framework.