Editor's Note:  Greetings! This week in China-EU relations, Beijing and Brussels engaged in high-level dialogues on strategy and energy. Meanwhile, the EU's new Climate Commissioner virtually met with China's climate envoy. Our CCCEU Weekly Update delivers the latest on these key developments in China-EU ties. Enjoy your read and have a great weekend. 

▶︎ Focus 

In the realm of international diplomacy, dialogue remains a bedrock for dispelling misunderstandings and nurturing trust. This week, high-ranking EU officials embarked on significant visits to Beijing, focusing on energy and strategy. Ms. Kadri Simson, responsible for energy, visited from the 11th to the 13th, closely followed by the EU's foreign affairs chief, Mr. Josep Borrell, who extended his visit from the 12th to the 14th. These parallel visits spanned three days, encompassing joint high-level dialogues between China and the EU and engaging with business, politics, and the educational sectors.

Notably, like their colleagues such as Mr. Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission, and Mr. Sinkevičius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, these visits to China marked the first of their tenure within the EU Cabinet. Moreover, Mr. Borrell's two delayed visits to China underscore the ever-changing nature of China-EU relations, influenced by various factors.

Let's first examine the key elements of these two high-level dialogues.

I. China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, on October 13, 2023, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Foreign Affairs, held the twelfth round of the China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Mr. Borrell, in Beijing.

The following are the highlights from the Chinese side's press release:

Regarding the current state of China-EU interactions, the press release mentions that Wang Yi emphasised that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU. Both sides have fully restored exchanges at all levels, especially the successful high-level meetings in areas such as green, digital, economic, and trade, which have led to new consensus and achievements. This showcases the resilience and vitality of China-EU relations, highlighting the global significance and world impact of this relationship.

Regarding the background and positioning of this strategic dialogue, the press release states that Wang Yi stressed that China and the EU should establish the correct mutual understanding through strategic dialogue, adhere to their partnership, and make sufficient preparations for the leadership meeting by the end of the year. Both sides should promote dialogue and cooperation, maintain mutual openness, expand trade and investment, oppose decoupling, and ensure the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.

Mr. Borrell's statement is as follows: "Mr. Borrell emphasised that the EU values its relationship with China and is committed to developing a constructive and stable EU-China relationship. The EU is the most open economy, and economic and trade cooperation between the EU and China is in the mutual interest of both parties. The EU will not close its doors to China, will not engage in a trade war, has no intention to restrict China's development, and is pleased to see China prosper and remain stable."

Mr. Borrell also mentioned that the EU looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in areas such as climate change and seeks to establish a more balanced and reciprocal economic and trade relationship. This is aimed at accumulating tangible results for the EU-China leadership meeting and providing a fair and just business environment for enterprises.

The dialogue covers economic trade and international relations. As the press release states, "Wang Yi emphasised that governments should create a fair environment for businesses, provide positive expectations, and prevent the politicisation of economic issues. Both sides should jointly defend free trade and uphold the principle of fair competition."

Additionally, the press release highlights, "Both sides exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and agreed that political solutions should be promoted for the relevant issues."

The twelfth round of the China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue is widely viewed as an important preparatory meeting for the China-EU summit. Looking at the breadth and comprehensiveness of the topics covered in the dialogue, it's evident that this dialogue encompasses a wide range of subjects.

II: The Eleventh China-EU High-Level Energy Dialogue

According to China's National Energy Administration, on October 12, 2023, Mr. Zhang Jianhua, Director of China's National Energy Administration, co-hosted the eleventh China-EU Energy Dialogue in Beijing with Ms. Simson, the EU Commissioner for Energy.

Highlighting the importance of energy issues, the press release states, "Zhang Jianhua emphasised that energy is one of the earliest and most important areas of cooperation between China and the EU. As significant global energy consumers, both China and the EU share a common mission of accelerating energy transformation, ensuring energy security, and achieving carbon neutrality. They have initiated extensive and fruitful exchanges and cooperation."

Regarding energy exchanges between China and the EU, the press release suggests, "In the current circumstances, China is willing to uphold the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination with the EU on energy security, deepen exchanges and cooperation on energy transformation, jointly create a fair, non-discriminatory, and predictable market environment, improve cooperation platform mechanisms, further unleash the enormous potential of China-EU clean energy cooperation, contribute to practical achievements in the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, and make a greater contribution to global clean energy transformation and climate change response."

For the EU, which is actively pursuing a green and low-carbon transition, energy is a vital topic. The press release points out, "Ms. Simson expressed that the EU places great importance on cooperation with China in green development. She sees this dialogue as an opportunity to actively expand cooperation with China in the field of clean energy and drive the collaboration to achieve more substantial results."

It is worth noting that both sides had in-depth and productive discussions in the energy sector. As the press release highlights, "During the dialogue, both sides had in-depth exchanges on topics including energy security and transformation, renewable energy, electricity market reform, green energy certification, and green hydrogen. They listened to progress reports on the China-EU energy technology innovation platform and the China-EU energy cooperation platform and reached a consensus on the next steps and directions for cooperation."

Additionally, apart from these two high-level dialogues, on October 12, Chinese and European officials had other interactions. Mr. Hoekstra, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action, in the shoes of the former Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. Timmermans, had a busy first week in office. On October 12, he had a call with China's Special Envoy for Climate Change, Mr. Xie Zhenhua, to prepare for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28).

Hoekstra wrote on X, formerly known as Tweeter, that the call was "very good... we underlined the importance of implementing the Paris Agreement and the solid EU-China cooperation on crucial aspects of our green transitions, such as emission trading."

He added, "I look forward to continuing our conversation in person soon."

▶︎ Hot Topics

>>Chinese President Xi to attend opening ceremony of 3rd Belt and Road Forum for Int'l Cooperation

The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) will be held in Beijing from Oct. 17 to 18. Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the forum and deliver a keynote speech, and hold a welcome banquet and bilateral events for the guests attending the forum, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.

According to Hua, the theme of the third BRF is "High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity."

>>Report: BMW, Mercedes, and VW criticise the EU's China questionnaire

The EU Commission is examining how much car companies do business in China, also to fend off competition from Asia. But the German industry has doubts about the approach and its professionalism, German media outlet Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

>>Germany's Investment in China Jumps 21% in First Eight Months

Germany's actual investment in China rose 21 percent in the first eight months from a year earlier, according to a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce. German companies have increased their investment in China, particularly those in the motor equipment and chemical manufacturing fields, which soared 172 percent and 91 percent, respectively, in the eight months ended Aug. 31 from the same period last year, He Yadong said at a press conference on Thursday.

>>China lashes out at EU plan to probe into Chinese steel products 

China said on Thursday that EU plans to investigate its steelmakers over subsidies will disrupt global supply chains and fly in the face of international trade norms, Reuters reported.

Brussels is reportedly planning anti-subsidy investigations of steelmakers producing excess in countries such as China, as part of a pact with the United States. In return, the U.S. will not re-impose Trump-era tariffs on EU steel and aluminium. "The Chinese side believes that the abovementioned actions of the Europan Union will disrupt the order of international trade," said a spokesperson of China's commerce ministry, He Yadong.

"The EU's practices push up downstream production costs, affecting the interests of consumers, and are not conducive to the stability of global industrial and supply chains."

>>Commission imposes anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese imports of electrolytic manganese dioxides

On Thursday, the European Commission announced imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of electrolytic manganese dioxide originating from China. The tariffs span from 0% to 34.6%.

>>China's imports from the EU grows in Q3 

China's imports and exports maintained a good momentum in the first three quarters of this year, according to fresh official data on Friday.

It showed that China's imports from the EU have registered growth for two consecutive quarters, up by 2.6% in the third quarter. China's exports to the EU, however, decreased by 8.7% year-on-year in September, smaller than the decline in August.

▶︎ What are experts talking about？

EU Green Industry Policy and Its Impact on China-EU Economic and Trade Relations

Author: Yang Chengyu, Dong Yifan

Source: European Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

This article discusses the new trend of "promoting industry through legislation" as a new feature of major countries' strategic competition, with the global major economies generally proposing carbon neutrality targets and increasing support for green industries. The EU has launched a package of green industry revitalization policies with the overall framework of the "Green Agreement Industry Plan" to seize new opportunities in the global green economy, hedge against global competition pressure on green industry policies, and seek long-term energy security.

Although China's green industry has a strong advantage globally and the international integration of its industrial chain supply chain is high, the EU, as one of China's major export destinations and partners for green industries, may reduce its import demand for China's low-carbon technology products due to the trend of localising green industries, which poses a more severe challenge to China's advantage in green industries and exacerbates competition friction between China and the EU in key raw material fields. Under the current situation, it is necessary to use the opportunity of adjusting Europe's energy structure, actively plan for relations with Europe, stabilise China-EU green industry chain supply chain cooperation, and deepen China-EU green cooperation partnership, which is the only way to maintain stable China-EU relations.

Much Ado About Nothing? EU's WTO Complaints Against China Have Distracted from Useful Dialogue on the Enforcement of IP Rights.

Author: Weinian Hu

Source: Institute for China-Europe Studies

In December 2022, the EU lodged a complaint against China with the WTO regarding the power of Chinese courts to issue worldwide and prospective anti-suit injunctions (ASIs) that extend beyond its jurisdiction. As a result, standard essential patents (SEP) holders may be prohibited from asserting their patent rights protected by the TRIPS Agreement in non-Chinese jurisdictions. Such ASIs may not be limited to the specific scope, conditions or circumstances related to the concrete cases before a Chinese court, either. The EU substantiated its allegation by taking the examples of ASI orders granted in 2020 by various Chinese courts in four licensing disputes related to SEPs. In the same context, the EU complained that China has not applied and administered its laws, regulations and other measures in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner.

In each of the four licensing disputes mentioned above, an ASI was sought by the complainant in a Chinese court while being sued by the respondent for patent infringement in non-Chinese jurisdictions in parallel proceedings. However, despite the litigation, the parties continued their negotiations. Licensing agreements were reached, and lawsuits were withdrawn, even before the EU submitted its complaint.

The ASIs granted by the Chinese courts are not without controversy, indeed, in relation to their respective scope. Nonetheless, however unjustifiable, they were all neutralised subsequently by the anti-ASIs issued by non-Chinese courts when adjudicating the patent infringement cases in front of them. Thus, although presently there are no international rules that govern ASI application, courts in different jurisdictions are efficient in preserving judicial sovereignty and protecting patent rights. In other words, judges are competent in fixing unjustifiable ASIs.

It is regrettable that the EU and China were not able to resolve their differences on ASIs through dialogue. This is despite the fact that both sides have succeeded in resolving many IPR issues, including IP legislation, in the past two decades thanks to the comprehensive EU-China IPR Dialogue mechanism. With its robust telecoms innovation landscape, China will emerge as a global IP litigation centre, epitomised by ASI litigation. Meanwhile, Chinese jurisprudence will also gradually influence international IP law-making, which should encourage the EU to cooperate more closely with China on IP protection.

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.