Beijing (Eurotoday) – In response to an invitation to visit Brussels for the 50th anniversary of EU-China diplomatic ties, China’s President Xi Jinping has declined to attend the summit, the Financial Times reported.
China informed European Union officials that Premier Li Qiang would hold talks with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission instead of Xi, according to the Financial Times.
The Chinese premier usually participates in the summit when it is hosted in Brussels, while the president hosts it in Beijing. However, the European Union had hoped that Xi would attend to commemorate half a century of ties between Beijing and the EU.
How have tensions between China and the EU escalated?
Tensions between the European Union and China have increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the European Union accusing China of backing Russia, the FT said. Last year, the European Union also imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports.
EU officials argue that China, which had a €304.5 billion trade deficit with the EU last year, is not doing enough to rebalance trade by lowering subsidies for its industries and reducing trade barriers for foreign firms operating in the world’s second-largest economy. “The relationship is on ice,” stated a senior EU diplomat.
“It is a change of tone, not substance. Their policy is not going to change, and the same is true for us.”
“Informal discussions are ongoing, both about setting the date for the EU-China summit this year and the level of representation,”
an EU official said, while the Chinese ministry stated that it had no details to provide on the matter. Furthermore, the EU’s trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is set to visit China at the end of this month.
China, the world’s second-biggest economy, and the European Union, its third-largest, spent most of 2024 exchanging accusations over allegations of overcapacity, unfair subsidies, and restricting market access.
In October, the EU imposed double-digit tariffs on China-made electric vehicles following an anti-subsidy investigation, in addition to its standard 10% car import duty. The move prompted strong protests from China, which retaliated by increasing market entry barriers for certain EU products, such as brandy.
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