Brussels's upcoming "strategic discussion" on China

Editor's Note: The CCP's 20th national congress in the days to come, as well as later German and French leaders' reported trips to China, have intensified debates on China in the EU bubble. Officially, leaders of EU member states will gather in Brussels next Thursday and Friday, with a strategic discussion on China high on the agenda. The CCCEU Weekly Update is here to keep you up to date on China-EU dynamics. Enjoy reading and have a lovely weekend.  

Brussels has been blanketed by endless drizzles and its usual gloominess, and next week, it will probably brace for slow traffic and impatient horns from commuters around Schuman, where the EU headquarters are nestled; the bloc's foreign ministers will gather on Monday, and at the end of the weekdays, it will be the leaders' turn.

Ukraine, energy: EU leaders, at their third routine summit of this year, will discuss those heated issues weighing on global economy, supply chains and geopolitical landscape. Their discussion on Ukraine will come after the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, a deadly blast on the Crimean Bridge, and Russia's large-scale attack against Ukraine targets. A statement of the European Council noted that leaders will discuss how to support Kyiv. Moreover, as Europe is hit hard by staggering price hikes on energy and necessities, the summit will also seek to lower energy prices and safeguard supply security.

Asia, China: In a recent speech addressing the EU ambassadors' conference, the President of the European Commission, von der Leyen, said the bloc would step up engagement in Central Asia, which, in her telling, is a gateway between Europe, Russia, and China. The rhetoric will probably be echoed by leaders as the EU summit is scheduled to "address EU-Asia relations." Particularly, the council noted that "strategic discussion" on China will take place.

Seibert-Rudd meeting: Preparation work has been under way. On Wednesday, a readout from the European Commission said that Mr. Bjoern Seibert, the head of cabinet of President von der Leyen, had met in Brussels with Mr. Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and President of the Asia Society in New York, "for discussions regarding China." The discussions, dubbed by the readout "ahead of the 20th congress of the Chinese Communist Party", focused on the strategic direction that China is taking and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific.

All eyes on China's big event: President von der Leyen has said that the bloc is "observing carefully" the aftermath of the Communist Party of China's 20th National Congress, the week-long political event that will kick off on Sunday and chart the course for China's development trajectory for the next five years. She told EU ambassadors that Brussels will see if there are "any changes to China's international posture" following the country's most significant political agenda.

In eyes of "professional sinologist": "Despite its global power struggle with Washington, China understands that there is one other major centre of power in the world, both strategically and economically, and this centre is Europe," said Mr. Rudd during an exclusive interview with Eurative's Senior Editor Georgi Gotev.

From Berlin to Beijing: China-Europe interaction seems to be gaining momentum, including person-to-person meetings among top leaders. For instance, in early November, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to embark on his first trip to China since taking power, Politico reported, adding that he will be accompanied by a business delegation.

Decoupling from China "the wrong answer": The Chinese business community welcomes the remarks from Mr. Scholz and Mr. Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the European Commission and EU commissioner for trade. At the 13th German Mechanical Engineering Summit in Berlin on Tuesday, Scholz reiterated the importance of globalization for realizing prosperity and opposed decoupling from countries, including China. Echoing Scholz, Mr. Dombrovskis noted that "decoupling from China is not an option for companies in the European Union."

EU ministers discuss energy

According to Xinhua, EU energy ministers held an informal meeting in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss solutions for high gas prices, preparing for the energy situation this winter, and a possible revision of the electricity market.

Discussions aimed to define the European Commission's legislative proposals on joint gas purchases and possible price capping, according to a statement issued by the Czech Presidency of the EU after the meeting.

Industrial production goes up

In August 2022, the seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 1.5% in the euro area and by 1.1% in the EU, compared with July 2022, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

In August 2022 compared with August 2021, industrial production increased by 2.5% in the euro area and by 3.5% in the EU.

Inflation hits record high

According to Xinhua, inflation keeps breaking records in Sweden, with the CPIF (Consumer Price Index with fixed interest rate) 12-month inflation hitting 9.7 percent in September, the highest level in three decades, Statistics Sweden said on Thursday.

Driven by soaring energy prices, Germany's annual inflation rate accelerated to 10 percent in September, the highest level on record, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. Inflation has remained above 7 percent for seven months now, it added

As a whole, Eurozone's annual inflation is expected to be 10.0 % in September 2022, up from 9.1 % in August 2022, data from Eurostat showed.

IMF downgrades growth outlook

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday projected the global economy to grow by 3.2 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2023, with a downward 0.2-percentage-point revision for 2023 from the July forecast, according to the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report.

China's standard setting

According to CGTN, China officially released the first international standard for scenario-based testing of autonomous vehicles on Thursday.

The new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard was titled "2022 Road vehicles – Test scenarios for automated driving systems – Vocabulary."

Meanwhile, Chinese experts have launched a series of international standard projects with peers from 20 countries in this field, including scenario vocabulary, safety assessment framework and the scope for design and operation, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Joint efforts on climate

According to CGTN, the Europe-China Climate Collaboration Forum 2022 was held virtually on Wednesday. It aimed to promote Europe-China climate collaboration and related academic research, deepening bilateral exchange and mutual learning. The Forum brings together leaders and policy makers to discuss and accelerate the Europe-China green economy transformation and climate collaboration.

A sight to behold

"Looking up, I see the immensity of the cosmos; bowing my head, I look at the multitude of the world. The gaze flies, the heart expands, the joy of the senses can reach its peak, and indeed, this is true happiness." This is what the European Space Agency's astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti posted on social media, citing a Chinese poem, when she was flying over China on the International Space Station on Wednesday. It is now a huge hit.

"The Italian astronaut certainly has my like," said Mao Ning, the newly-appointed spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, during a regular press conference.

What are experts talking about?

"Central and Eastern Europe: How to deal with the "hardest hit" areas of hyperinflation in Europe", written by Kong Tianping, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Central and Eastern European countries are highly dependent on Russia for energy and their economies are vulnerable to external shocks. The article points out that the high inflation driven by the energy crisis is a pan-European phenomenon and therefore requires a pan-European solution. However, as with all EU-level policies, the emergency measures proposed by the European Commission to deal with the energy crisis are bound to undergo a complex and tortuous process to form a unified view among member states and eventually be implemented.

"An assessment of Europe's options for addressing the crisis in energy markets" by Conall Heussaff. Europe's energy markets are in a crisis. Wholesale prices for electricity and gas have risen five to 15-fold since early 2021. Action to directly intervene in the gas and electricity wholesale markets is also being taken at European Union level, which is what authors analyse in this Policy Contribution.

Please note: the English version of this issue is slightly different from our Chinese one. The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the official position of the CCCEU.