Advertisement
China-EU relations
ChinaDiplomacy

China-EU relations: rare earths, Taiwan discussed in Wang Yi’s visit to Polish embassy

Gathering comes ahead of European leaders’ summit in Beijing with President Xi Jinping to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (centre), flanked by EU ambassador Jorge Toledo (right) and Polish ambassador Jakub Kumoch, at the Polish embassy on June 25. Photo: AP
Vanessa Caiin Shanghai
China and the European Union should increase mutual trust and stick to cooperation to elevate ties to “a new level”, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday amid widening trade tensions with the bloc.

In a meeting with EU diplomatic envoys in Beijing, Wang said that China and the EU “have both the responsibility and capability to provide much-needed stability and predictability to a world fraught with turbulence”, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.

“Both sides should enhance mutual trust, properly manage differences, pool strengths, and elevate the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level,” Wang said.

Advertisement
The remarks were made during a gathering at the Polish embassy, before Poland’s rotating presidency of the European Union comes to an end this month and ahead of the two-day China-EU summit in Beijing in late July.

EU leaders will travel to China for the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties. It will be the second successive EU-China summit in the Chinese capital, despite convention dictating that the location rotates.

Advertisement

This month, China and the EU agreed to hold a new round of trade talks to pave the way for the high-level leaders’ summit, with the two sides in deep dispute over market access, rare earths and electric cars.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x