Editor's Note: The recent one-day China-EU summit marked a significant milestone—the first face-to-face meeting between China and EU leaders in four years and potentially the final one under the current EU administration. Over these four years, the EU has been viewing China through the lenses of a partner, competitor, and systemic rival. In turn, China has now formulated its own rendition of a "three-dimensional EU approach." This edition of the CCCEU Weekly Update delves into this pivotal summit, which carries immense bilateral and global importance.

▶︎ Focus

You might be well-acquainted with the EU's triple perspective on China—as a partner, competitor, and systemic rival—which China has consistently refuted, especially the characterization of rivalry.

On Thursday, after four years of the EU's three-pronged approach towards China casting a shadow, China presented its own trilateral definitions of its relationship with the EU, all under the framework of partnership.

This happened when the first in-person China-EU Summit in four years was held in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Chinese Premier Li Qiang co-chaired the meeting with Michel and von der Leyen.

China is willing to see the EU as a "key" partner for trade, a "priority" partner for innovation, and a "trustworthy" partner for the industrial and supply chain, according to the Chinese readout of Chinese President Xi's meeting with both President Michel and President von der Leyen on Thursday morning.

China's nuanced "triple partner positioning" towards Europe, in contrast to the EU's established 'triple positioning," carries profound implications:

The economic and trade closeness between China and the EU is self-evident, as reflected in their daily trade volume, which averages around 2.3 billion euros. Both are pivotal economic powerhouses and primary global trade partners, reciprocally holding the position of the second-largest trading partner in goods.

Elevating the EU to a "priority partner" for scientific and technological cooperation signifies a forward-thinking strategy. Despite the EU's robust foundation in fundamental research and skilled talent, bridging the gap between basic research and commercial application remains a significant challenge. Strengthening technological collaboration amidst global power dynamics holds immense promise.

Within the supply chain realm, fostering "trustworthy" partnerships resonates strongly within the business community. Both China and the EU advocate for multilateralism and share vested interests in preserving global supply chain stability. Their interconnectedness underscores the need for mutually beneficial collaboration that extends beyond bilateral gains, impacting the global community positively.

However, the realisation of this envisioned triple partnership necessitates an unwavering commitment from the European side to engage proactively. As elucidated by the media from a Chinese standpoint, expecting Chinese support while concurrently resorting to protectionist measures presents a counterproductive stance for Europe.

The business community anticipates an expansion of the China-EU "triple partnership positioning," aiming for deeper collaboration and a genuine strategic shift that transcends the EU's previous stance towards China in both action and strategic intent.

Undoubtedly, the significance of the 24th China-EU summit transcended mere trade matters. The discussions encompassed a broad spectrum of bilateral and global subjects, engaging in a "candid, in-depth, and productive" manner, as highlighted by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Friday. This comprehensive dialogue not only facilitated mutual understanding but also deepened strategic communication between the two sides, fostering a robust consensus for collaborative efforts.

The summit outlined pivotal areas for enhanced and mutually beneficial collaboration. Both sides committed to elevating dialogue and cooperation across several key domains, including trade and investment, green development, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, geographical indication, intellectual property rights, and export control.

"Additionally, the summit reaffirmed the mutual commitment to reinstating cross-border travel and fortifying people-to-people exchanges. Both sides reached an agreement to convene another session of the China-EU high-level people-to-people dialogue.

On global challenges, the summit pledged support for and practice of multilateralism, intensifying international coordination, advancing reforms within the WTO and the international financial system, and jointly addressing pressing global issues such as climate change, biodiversity, food security, and public health.

▶︎ Hot Topics

>>By keeping a clear eye on the mutual benefits China and EU can inject impetus into relations: China Daily editorial

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the European Union and the 25th anniversary of the China-EU leaders' meeting mechanism.

Although the two sides have different values and systems, that has never prevented them from working together to enlarge their common interests in various fields through dialogue and cooperation.

>>SCMP Exclusive: Europe is no one's vassal, 'relaxed' Xi Jinping tells EU leaders in Beijing

Europeans may have come away with few concrete deliverables but sources say they weren't completely shut down. Chinese president raised Moody's downgrade warning with EU leaders, who read it as a sign of concerns over the economy.

 >>FT: China dismisses EU trade deficit concerns as leaders meet

China has dismissed growing concern in Brussels over the country's record trade surplus with the EU in 2022, saying the gap will be significantly narrower this year.

China's foreign ministry director-general for European affairs Wang Lutong said in a separate briefing after the summit that the Asian country's surplus with the EU was already falling. China's customs administration has reported a deficit of Rmb1.4tn (€183bn) for the first 11 months of this year, down 17 percent compared with a year earlier.

  >>Bloomberg: Xi Tells EU Leaders China Wants to Be 'Key Partner' on Trade

Chinese President Xi Jinping told European Union leaders that he wants the two sides to be key trade partners capable of building trust over supply chains when they met in Beijing to hash out a series of economic concerns and frustrations.

   >>Xinhua: Guest Opinion: EU should step out of its "systemic competition" thinking towards China

To step out of "systemic competition," it is necessary to avoid unnecessary panic about "values." As Augusto Soto, director of the "Dialogue with China Project," said, "if the EU strongly recognises and affirms its own 'values' (which usually represent the whole of Europe), what is the significance of causing panic towards other values? Does the EU need to stir up panic about other political systems, believing that other systems 'defeat' the EU or want to disrupt the order in Europe? This sounds very absurd."

▶︎ What are experts talking about？

China-EU Leaders' Summit: Where Should Bilateral Relations Go?

Author: Lü Yunmou

Source: China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations

The China-EU leaders' meeting conveyed three significant messages: a steadfast commitment to sustained communication despite fluctuations in relations post-COVID-19; an imperative pursuit of a stable and constructive relationship, crucial amid Europe's challenges in security and economic projections; and a strong dedication to enhancing cooperation across diverse realms like climate change, artificial intelligence, global health, and multilateralism, emphasising an expanding collaborative agenda.

EU-China relations

Authors : Ulrich JOCHHEIM

Source：European Parliament

In 2019, the EU defined China as a partner, competitor and systemic rival. Since then, and as state intervention by China's authorities increases, the EU has adopted a number of measures (including the foreign investment screening mechanism, the foreign subsidies regulation, the international procurement instrument and the anti-coercion instrument) to improve its economic security and ensure a level playing- field for EU businesses...At the same time, the EU recognises that partnering with China is essential to tackle global challenges like climate change, pandemic preparedness or debt relief and increasingly global security.

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.

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