By Laurie Chen, Liz Lee and Xiuhao Chen
BEIJING, July 24 (Reuters)
EU leaders have been asked to manage differences and frictions at the Beijing summit. Most of the time, we always focus on the noise and the tensions and not really the peace and quiet that happens behind the scenes to make sure everything stands. Additionally, this is not to say that noise and conflicts are not there; they are, and we can actually see it now. Hence, the EU has been given this responsibility to quiet things down. This is because every handshake, tension, collaboration or withdrawal influences economies and everything surrounding the functioning of economies in general.
The tension has affected the EU and China trade
EU-China trade ties have hit a “clear inflexion point,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday in Beijing, capping a tense summit with top Chinese leaders dominated by concerns on commerce and the Ukraine war. Expectations were low for the summit in the Chinese capital, marking 50 years of diplomatic ties after weeks of escalating tension and wrangling that led to the duration being abruptly halved.
Von der Leyen told a press conference after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang,
“We have very frankly and openly raised our concerns…on the trade, investment and geopolitical issues… We have partially identified solutions.”
This is a sensitive time; words need to be chosen wisely
President Xi nicely asked the EU to help calm things down during this time of events. That is, trying to keep things in order and managing communication, especially at a time when things escalate and maybe there are disagreements. In this instance, the EU will have to choose their words wisely so that it does not create more tensions, making everything fall flat on the ground.
When asked about a potential trade deal with the United States, the EU chief said the bloc’s focus has been on achieving a negotiated solution, but all other instruments are on the table until “we have a satisfactory result.” Xi earlier told von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa that the challenges facing Europe do not come from China, urging the bloc to “properly handle differences and frictions.”
The EU chief added,
“Our relationship with China is of importance, but it stands on its own merits. It’s independent of the actions or issues we have with others.”
The relationship has been strained because of this
Trade has been the main thing that is caused all of this havoc to happen. What about trade? European politicians claim that Chinese products, particularly green technology and electric vehicles, oversupply European markets at costs that domestic businesses find difficult to match. They contend that unfair competition results from government support for Chinese companies.
The two sides also issued a joint statement on climate, reiterating their commitment to new climate action plans across the whole economy. They will boost cooperation in areas such as energy transition, adaptation, methane emissions management and control, carbon markets and green and low-carbon technologies, the joint statement said.
EU trade actions in the past year have targeted Chinese exports of electric vehicles among other goods, and its officials have repeatedly complained about Chinese industrial overcapacity as the bloc’s trade deficit with China ballooned to a historic 305.8 billion euros ($360 billion) last year. Von der Leyen told the press that the Chinese leadership has started to look into the overcapacity issue and expressed willingness to support more consumption. There are also issues surrounding human rights and speech. Therefore, the issues need time to talk and be uprooted one by one.