The European Union and China keep their re-rapprochement manoeuvrers despite unresolved issues such as the relationship with Russia and the position on the war in Ukraine, which has been widely seen as a reaction to Donald Trump‘s tariff war.
On the 50th anniversary of the bilateral relationship between Brussels and Beijing, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa released a statement to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang that underlines the willingness to advance cooperation. The statement recognises the “moment of global uncertainty and geopolitical changes”. It points out that the EU and China are interested in a “balanced relationship, built on fairness and reciprocity.” The bloc and China are setting up a bilateral summit in July.
China also released a statement for the anniversary, with a friendly tone and with the hopes for “a brighter future” in the relationship. It also echoed the idea of a global reason for a deeper relationship, stating that “a sound and stable China-EU relationship not only works to the advantage of both sides but also brings benefits to the whole world.“
The new stance of the EU is quite a turn from the past few years. Von der Leyen, during her first term as president of the Commission, was adamant in her criticism of China, mainly due to Beijing’s closeness with Russia. China still supports Vladimir Putin, and Xi was in Moscow as guest of honour to participate in Russia’s 80th anniversary celebration of Victory Day, signalling the end of WWII. Beijing still maintains that the war in Ukraine is merely a crisis between the two countries.
However, Trump’s second term forced the EU to re-evaluate foreign relationships. As the US president keeps a tough stance against the EU, with tariff hikes and threatening words about NATO and the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland, Brussels is eyeing China especially on trade and environmental issues.
This is the view given by Commission’s spokesperson Paula Pinho, who said to EuroNews that “we do see a number of areas where we can engage with China and where we can have more impactful results if we work together. It’s precisely this that we look forward to doing.”
The closeness between China and Russia is a problem, but not insurmountable. According to Pinho, Beijing could also have a significant role as a member of the UN Security Council in finding a solution to the Ukrainian war.
