An EU-China summit in Beijing wrapped up early on Thursday amid rising tensions, despite efforts to foster cooperation on trade, climate, and global stability.

In a tense summit that blended both diplomacy and frank discussion, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made it clear on Thursday that China’s close ties with Russia are now the central factor shaping EU-China relations.

The meeting, held in Beijing and nominally celebrating 50 years of the country’s diplomatic ties with the EU, saw leaders from both sides striving to strike a delicate balance between deepening cooperation and addressing major concerns.

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Despite a long list of disagreements – from trade imbalances to human rights and geopolitical tensions – there was a notable effort to keep the dialogue constructive.

Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa joined Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in a series of talks aimed at navigating what all parties acknowledged was a “complex” international environment.

The EU has grown increasingly uneasy over Beijing’s warming relationship with Moscow, particularly in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Von der Leyen stated frankly that China’s position on Russia is now the “determining” issue in its relations with the EU.

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She called on Beijing to use its influence to encourage Russia to move towards a ceasefire and meaningful peace negotiations.

Trade relations hang in the balance as China’s top diplomat tours Europe

‘Building trust’

In a positive step, the EU and China agreed to enhance mechanisms surrounding exports of rare earth minerals – a critical component in Europe’s push for green technologies and digital transformation.

This marks a potential breakthrough in an area that has often been a point of tension.

China, for its part, presented the summit as a chance to build trust and cooperation.

President Xi emphasised the importance of deeper EU-China collaboration in the face of global instability, positioning Beijing as a partner in a more balanced and multipolar world.

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“The more severe and complex the international situation is, the more important it is for China and the EU to strengthen communication and deepen cooperation,” Xi told the visiting European leaders.

French FM says China can help bring Russia to Ukraine negotiating table

Climate change, trade tensions

The summit also addressed climate change – a rare point of common ground. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to fighting global warming, agreeing to bolster cooperation on renewable energy and the transition to greener economies.

A joint statement signalled a willingness to accelerate global efforts, which could pave the way for tangible collaboration in the months ahead.

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Still, trade frictions lingered. The EU’s growing trade deficit with China – totalling more than €330 billion last year – has become a sore point.

France says ‘major issues’ remain despite brandy price accord with China

Brussels has responded with tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, citing unfair subsidies.

Beijing, in turn, has launched investigations into European pork, brandy, and dairy products, signalling its displeasure.

Despite the challenges, the summit highlighted that both sides remain committed to dialogue, even amid disagreement.

“We don’t see eye to eye on everything,” admitted one senior EU official to French news agency AFP, “but it’s essential to sit down and have open, direct conversations.”

(with newswires)

Despite calls for cooperation and limited climate pledges, the EU-China summit exposed deep divisions and confirmed that long-term tensions are likely to persist.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing at a tense bilateral summit this week, making no headway on geopolitical disputes and only modest advances on trade and climate change.

While EU leaders raised concerns over China’s export surplus flooding European markets with cheap goods, and Beijing allegedly providing support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, Chinese officials denied responsibility for these challenges and instead called for a deepening of the partnership.

“As our cooperation has deepened, so have imbalances,” von der Leyen told Xi during their meeting, describing EU-China trade imbalances as having reached “an inflection point” where China must “come forward with real solutions.”

But Xi told von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa that “there are no fundamental conflicts of interest or geopolitical contradictions” between the two sides, and urged the bloc to “properly handle differences and frictions.”

“It is hoped that the European side will keep the trade and investment market open and refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools,” Xi said, according to a Chinese version of a press release published by China’s Foreign Ministry.

Von der Leyen addresses trade imbalance between EU, China To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

China, EU to ‘step up’ efforts to address climate change

Despite the apparent discrepancy over trade and the Ukraine war, the two sides found common ground on climate change, releasing a joint statement that reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation on the green transition.

They have also agreed to establish what von der Leyen described as an “upgraded export supply mechanism” aimed at fast-tracking licenses for rare earth materials — over which China dominates global supply and has recently tightened export controls.

Still, the summit is unlikely to shift the trajectory of EU-China tensions in the long run, said Abigael Vasselier, head of the foreign relations team at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) during an online media briefing.

“Europe needs to be ready for a long-term struggle and probably needs to rethink its China strategy at this stage,” she said.

Brussels sends ‘clear, consistent’ message to Beijing

In the run-up to the summit, EU-China relations hit rock bottom amid trade friction and geopolitical grievances.

Earlier this month, the bloc included Chinese banks and companies for the first time in a new sanctions package against Russia for its attack on Ukraine.

Beijing then threatened to respond with necessary steps to counter Europe’s move that “seriously harmed the trade, economic and financial ties.”

Revived hawkish rhetoric toward China was evident in a recent speech by von der Leyen, in which she accused China of “de facto enabling Russia’s war economy.”

At a press conference following the summit, the European leader once again urged China to use its influence to “make sure that Russia is coming seriously to the negotiation table.”

EU-China relations hit new low ahead of summit To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an affiliated scholar at the Free University of Brussels, said the message the EU sends to China was “clear and consistent” once again at the summit.

“What Europe needs to do is to hold its ground and try to stay as coherent as possible … so that we do not allow China to divide and undermine the unity that we have,” she told DW.

Prior to the summit, many in Brussels were surprised by reports of an unexpectedly frank remark made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who allegedly told the EU’s top diplomat that it would not be in Beijing’s interest to see a Russian loss in Ukraine.

Wang Guochen, a China economy assistant research fellow at Taiwan’s Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), said these recent interactions have escalated tensions and the summit once again “confirmed that China-EU relations are unlikely to improve.”

What did China want out of the summit?

During his speech at the summit, China’s Xi mentioned a “win-win situation” multiple times to invite the EU to “jointly promote an equal and orderly world multipolarization and inclusive economic globalization.”

Grzegorz Stec, head of the Brussels office at MERICS, told DW prior to the summit that Beijing’s goal is to “erode the EU’s de-risking and trade defense strategies and keep the market open for as long as possible.”

China is currently dealing with overcapacity against a backdrop of limited domestic consumption and 33 consecutive months of deflation as of June.

“China is producing too much and it needs those goods to go somewhere. That’s what makes access to Europe still relevant and important,” said Stec.

By limiting the summit’s deliverables to rare earth-related agreements, China appears to be leveraging its export restrictions on critical minerals to pressure the EU into scaling back, or even lifting, tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese electric vehicles.

Under Beijing’s new regulations, exporters of rare earth elements and magnets must obtain a license for every shipment and submit documentation detailing how the materials will be used.

And although the summit produced an agreement on an “upgraded export supply mechanism,” it likely fell short of European businesses’ expectations of easing the stringent export controls.

‘Positive’ outcome from Beijing’s perspective?

Even though the summit ended with few meaningful outcomes, it may still be seen as a positive result from Beijing’s perspective, given the worsening trans-Atlantic relationship.

Just a day before the meeting, EU diplomats told reporters that the bloc was moving toward a trade deal with Washington that would impose a broad 15% tariff on EU goods — avoiding a previously proposed 30% rate.

Still, a growing number of EU member states, including Germany, are reportedly considering invoking wide-ranging “anti-coercion” measures if a deal cannot be reached by August 1.

“China could demonstrate that it is committed to pursuing cooperation and project itself as a solution provider, as a peace supporter in a turbulent world,” Ferenczy said.

“This is the language the Chinese side often uses both internationally and domestically — that China and the EU are meant for positive cooperation,” she added.

But not everyone sees Beijing as having the upper hand after the summit.

“From my perspective, Beijing actually lost out here,” said Wang, the China economy researcher. “With US-EU relations being strained … Beijing still didn’t succeed in winning over Europe.”

Why China’s rare earth supremacy damages the global economy To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Edited by: Keith Walker

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (F) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrive at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Thursday amid the 25th EU-China Summit. Photo by Kumar A. Manesh/EPA

July 24 (UPI) — A European Union-China summit in Beijing on Thursday saw Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call for closer ties met with a reality check from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over China’s $359 billion trade surplus with the EU.

Xi told the high-level gathering, marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between Brussels and Beijing, that rising current geopolitical frictions demanded the two sides strengthen their “mutually beneficial” relationship.

“The more severe and complex the international situation is, the more China and the EU should strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, and deepen cooperation,” Xi told the EU delegation headed by von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

Telling them that the problems Europe was facing “do not come from China,” Xi urged the EU to deal with tensions and disagreements properly, keep its market open and refrain from resorting to measures targeting trade, including tariffs.

However, Von der Leyen pushed back, saying relations were at a critical point where the Chinese leadership needed to prioritize the huge trade imbalance between the EU and China.

“As our cooperation has deepened, so have the imbalances. We have reached an inflection point. Rebalancing our bilateral relations is essential. Because to be sustainable, relations need to be mutually beneficial. To achieve this, it is vital for China and Europe to acknowledge our respective concerns and come forward with real solutions,” she said.

Trade tensions have taken a toll on the relationship after Brussels, accusing China of unfair subsidies, hiked tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles while Beijing targeted imports of European brandy, pork, and dairy products with anti-dumping investigations.

China has also restricted government purchasing of EU-made medical devices in retaliation for Brussels making it much more difficult for Chinese suppliers to bid for EU medical equipment contracts.

This was against a backdrop of a trade relationship in which Chinese exports to the EU reached $609.4 billion in 2024, while EU exports to China were just $250.4 billion. Official Chinese data for the first half of this year show the goods-trade surplus up 21% on the same period in 2024, although the Chinese totals are somewhat lower than the EU’s figures.

A rapprochement hoped for by Beijing between the world’s second- and third-largest trading blocs, both at the forefront of U.S. President Donald Trump’s blanket tariff hikes, has gradually evaporated amid the airing of grievances.

That saw the summit, which was originally planned to run through Friday, cut to one day.

In meetings with Xi in the morning and Chinese Premier Li Qiang after lunch, von der Leyen and Costa raised not only the trade issue but also China’s backing for Russia in the Ukraine war and end export controls on rare earth minerals, of which China has among the world’s largest reserves.

Von der Leyen has previously accused China of leveraging its “quasi-monopoly on rare earths not only as a bargaining chip, but also weaponizing it to undermine competitors in key industries.”

Costa told Xi he needed to use China’s sway to push Moscow to halt the war.

The two sides did, however, manage to see eye-to-eye on the climate, issuing a joint communique vowing to “demonstrate leadership together” and develop proposals to combat the emissions causing global warming in time for this year’s COP, the U.N. Climate Change Conference, in Brazil in November.