Five years later, Xi Jinping returns to visit Europe, just a few months after the European Union and China celebrated 50 years of bilateral relations.
On his first stop on this tour, in France, Xi Jinping met with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.Trade and economic issues dominated the agenda of this meeting, at a time of growing tension between the European bloc and Beijing.
In a speech at the beginning of the meeting at the Élysée Palace, Xi Jinping appealed to Paris and the European Union to strengthen their “strategic coordination” and remain “partners” despite the multiple disputes and disagreements, ranging from trade to war in Ukraine.
“As two major world powers, China and the EU should continue to be partners, continue dialogue and cooperation, deepen strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, consolidate strategic consensus and carry out strategic coordination,” said Xi Jinping .
“This aims to promote the stable and healthy development of China-EU relations and continually make new contributions to world peace and development,” he added.
Ursula von der Leyen, in turn, left open the possibility of removing the suspicions that mark the relationship between the two blocs, highlighting that “exchange is crucial”.
“The European Union and China want good relations. And given China’s global weight, our exchanges are crucial to ensuring mutual respect, avoiding misunderstandings and finding solutions to global challenges,” said Von der Leyen.
“Furthermore, both China and the European Union have a common interest in peace and security and the functioning of a rules-based international order,” he added.
Despite this, the president of the European Commission made it clear that the EU “will not hesitate to take firm decisions” to protect its economy and urged Xi Jinping to take measures to control the overproduction of Chinese industrial goods flooding the European market.
“A China that plays fair is good for all of us,” said Von der Leyen after the meeting.
Emmanuel Macron called for “fair” trade rules and the French Minister of Economy and Finance called for a “balanced and solid economic partnership” between France and China, adding that currently the two powers are “still far from that balance”.
China rejects industrial “excess capacity” problem
According to a press release from Chinese diplomacy, Xi Jinping explained to his French counterpart and the president of the European Commission that “the new Chinese energy industry” made it possible to “increase global supply and alleviate the pressure of global inflation”.
“The so-called ‘China overcapacity problem’ does not exist, whether from the point of view of comparative advantage or in light of global demand,” he argued.
The EU officially considers China a partner, but also a competitor and a systemic rival.
Relations between Beijing and Brussels became significantly tense after the EU announced measures to protect against practices it considers unfair by Beijing, namely the subsidization of certain sectors whose products flood the European market, such as electric cars.
In 2023, the European bloc even opened an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric cars. More recently, an investigation was also opened into suspicions of unfair trade in biofuel from China in the single market, with Brussels imposing retaliatory measures, such as customs tariffs, if ‘dumping’ is found.
Alleged illegal subsidies to Chinese wind turbine manufacturers in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria are also being analyzed.
EU and France count on China to end the war in Ukraine
The role of Brussels and Beijing in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East was also discussed at this meeting in Paris.
The EU and France urged Beijing to “use all its influence over Russia” to end the war in Ukraine, as well as limit the delivery of military equipment to Russia.
“We count on China to use all its influence over Russia to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said “We count on China to use all its influence over Russia to end Russia’s war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine,” said Von der Leyen.
The president of the European Commission said she was “confident” that China will continue to moderate Russian nuclear threats in the context of the war in Ukraine.
“President Xi has played an important role in reducing Russia’s irresponsible nuclear threats and I am confident he will continue to do so,” said Ursula von der Leyen at the end of the meeting.
In response, Xi Jinping said China has always worked “vigorously” to facilitate peace talks in Ukraine and said it is available to work with the EU to support “a broader, more credible and effective international peace conference” to resolve the conflict. in the Gaza Strip.
After the visit to France, Xi Jinping will visit Hungary and Serbia, European countries close to China and also to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
w/agencies
Tags: Commercial tension war Ukraine mark meeting Macron Von der Leyen
--
