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It was supposed to be one of the highlights for Angela Merkel this fall when Germany takes over the EU presidency. EU-China Summit in Leipizig.
The heads of state and government of the 27 EU countries would attend the three-day summit, as would, of course, China’s leader, President Xi Jinping.
But none of them are in force today in Leipzig. The summit has been reduced to one day and everything is happening through a video chat in which Merkel, the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, speak on behalf of the EU.
They have a lot to discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Relations between China and the EU have not deteriorated as much as Sino-US relations, but the climate has turned colder.
After a video meeting with Xi and Prime Minister Li Keqiang in June, for example, Charles Michel stated that:
– We must realize that we do not share the same values, political systems or attitudes towards international cooperation.
China calls “systemic rival”
As early as last year, the European Commission began calling China a “systemic rival” seeking to spread an “alternative state model.”
For China, it is important to try to bridge a gap between the US and the EU and convince the EU not to hit the most critical US line with China. Among other things, China is concerned that several countries, such as the United States, have chosen to block the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei when they build their new 5G networks.
Relations between China and the EU have also been deteriorated by events in Hong Kong with new Chinese security laws and the treatment of Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province.
Today’s meeting is mainly about the trade relations between China and the EU. The goal is an investment agreement in which the EU wants to force China to make it easier for European companies to operate in China.
