The signs of a diplomatic reset between the European Union and China continue to intensify despite Beijing doubling down on its “no-limits” partnership with Moscow, which until recently was considered a disqualifying factor in the eyes of the bloc.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and António Costa, the president of the European Council, exchanged messages on Tuesday with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qian, celebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations.
Upbeat in tone, the statements highlight a mutual willingness to advance cooperation in areas of common interest and tackle global challenges together.
The anniversary “takes place at a moment of global uncertainty and geopolitical changes, underlying our shared responsibility in defending all the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,” von der Leyen and Costa wrote.
“In this context, we remain committed to deepening our partnership with China. A balanced relationship, built on fairness and reciprocity, is in our common interest.”
The read-out released by Xi’s office was more detailed and buoyant, describing the anniversary as an opportunity to “open up a brighter future for China-EU relations”.
“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 Chinese read-out said.
The wording stands in stark contrast with the policy that von der Leyen pursued during her first presidential term, when she coined the term “de-risking” to eliminate dangerous dependencies on China and regularly denounced Beijing’s relations with Moscow.
“How China continues to interact with Putin’s war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward,” she said in a landmark speech delivered in March 2023.
Von der Leyen’s hawkish stance won plaudits from the US administration of Joe Biden and brought member states closer towards a unified position on China, even if significant disagreements persisted. Beijing, by contrast, resented the approach and harshly criticised “de-risking” as overtly confrontational and politically motivated.
When von der Leyen ran for a second mandate in July 2024, her guidelines promised a continuation of the same policy, without any hint of a softening.
“The more aggressive posture and unfair economic competition from China, its ‘no-limits’ friendship with Russia – and the dynamics of its relationship with Europe – reflect a shift from cooperation to competition,” von der Leyen wrote.
But Donald Trump’s return to the White House changed the geopolitical calculus overnight, forcing the EU to reconsider its relations with allies and adversaries alike.
Trump’s sweeping tariffs, in particular, prompted Brussels to take a second look at the way it engages with China, the world’s second-largest economy, and quickly fuelled speculation of an impending diplomatic reset, an impression further reinforced by the messages sent for the 50th anniversary.
Awkward timing
The celebratory exchange, however, took place at a highly sensitive time.
On Wednesay, Xi Jinping headed to Moscow for a four-day state visit that will include the military parade hosted by Vladimir Putin for Victory Day on 9 May, an event that Brussels has dismissed as propaganda. Putin says Xi will be the parade’s “main guest”.
The attendance of the Chinese president raised questions on whether von der Leyen, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, would now be willing to change gears and overlook Beijing’s alliance with Moscow for the benefit of commercial opportunities.
Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, admitted the Xi-Putin partnership was “clearly not a constructive element” but said the EU could still work “constructively” with China on other issues, like climate change and global trade.
“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,” Pinho said on Wednesday. “On the areas where we have different views, we are continuing to engage with big openness and sincerity.”
The spokesperson noted China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, had a “responsibility to call out what are obvious breaches of the UN Charter,” such as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Beijing simply refers to as a “crisis”.
“If China wants an end to the war in Ukraine, it can have a role to play,” Pinho added.
Beijing’s close-knit friendship with Moscow is a prominent source of fiction in EU-China relations, but certainly not the only one.
Other tensions involve massive exports of low-cost Chinese products, the heavy use of state subsidies to the detriment of foreign competitors, protectionist regulations that prevent fair access to the Chinese market, surveillance of private citizens and companies, the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, aggressive behaviour in the Taiwan Strait, the repression of the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region, violations of human rights, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.
All these issues are set to loom large over the EU-China summit pencilled for mid-July.
Ahead of the crucial date, the two sides are sparing no signs of goodwill: Brussels has agreed to relaunch negotiations on China-made electric vehicles, while Beijing has lifted retaliatory sanctions on five members of the European Parliament.
