The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will travel to China on December 1 to resume dialogue with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in an appointment marked by the war in Ukraine and tensions over Taiwan, during which he will ask for a more balanced trade deal with the Asian giant.
In his first visit to China since taking office three years ago, the President of the European Council will have the opportunity to meet Xi, after being re-elected by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for an unprecedented third term that consolidates him as the undisputed leader of the country.
The former Belgian prime minister will convey the message agreed by European leaders at their October conclave in which, after a three-hour debate, they toughened the tone and called for «clarifying ideas» regarding the Asian giant and being vigilant with regard to economic dependencies.
The EU is concerned about the imbalance in the trade relationship and dependencies on issues such as microchips or rare materials. The European bloc points out the existing trade deficit with Beijing and calls for better access to the Chinese market for European companies, in addition to a relationship marked by the rules dictated by the World Trade Organization. «The EU wants a global economy with rules and not a jungle,» said a European official.
Regarding China’s willingness to reach agreements, Brussels focuses on the fact that the objective is the resumption of contacts to make exchanges with Beijing more frequent and to lay the foundations to be able to deal with trade and political issues with the Asian giant.
Another reason for the trip will be to discuss geopolitical issues in the Asian region. After Michel’s contacts with Southeast Asian countries and the upcoming EU summit with ASEAN in December, the President of the European Council will address Beijing’s more assertive attitude in the area, including threats on Taiwan.
The EU considers the Taiwan issue «really dangerous» and stresses that the use of force is not justified to regain control of the island, thus aligning itself with the U.S. position of defending the ‘One China’ policy while rejecting any military escalation in the region.
On the war in Ukraine, in the European capital they stress that it is a matter of «critical interest» that Beijing and Moscow do not act together and that China does not supply arms or help circumvent European sanctions. Michel will reiterate this message and ask the Chinese president to use his influence on Putin to stop military aggression in Ukraine.
The European official has avoided confirming whether Michel will put on the table French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal for China to play a mediation role in the conflict, although he stresses that the messages coming from China are more positive than at the beginning of the war, since Moscow launched the military aggression shortly after the partnership agreement sealed with Beijing. «The war is to everyone’s detriment and hopefully China can help put an end to it,» he summed up.
