China EU relations

As the European Union's (EU) foreign affairs chief aims to make his long-delayed visit to China this fall, ahead of a planned summit between the two sides, Chinese observers believe the two sides should accelerate the resumption of all key dialogue mechanisms and exchanges in fields of strategy, economy and trade as well people-to-people cooperation, so as to boost the bilateral ties in the post-pandemic era.

"I have all assurances that the meeting will be before our next summit," High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on US local time Tuesday.

"The purpose of the visit is to hold the strategic dialog during the preparation steps for the summit," he said.

The next summit between the EU and China has not been formally scheduled yet, but Borrell said he hopes it will happen before the end of the year, according to the Bloomberg report.

Borrell might visit China in September, which could pave the way for the bilateral summit later, predicted Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

China and the EU have three pillars of dialogue and cooperation mechanisms - strategy, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges, and this year the main task for the two sides should be resuming all key exchange mechanisms, Cui told the Global Times on Wednesday.

He believes Borrell's possible China visit could be a significant chance to escalate the resumption of bilateral exchanges. Cooperation in the green economy and digitalization could be covered during Borrell's visit, Cui noted.

Cui predicted that China and the EU will be able to reach positive consensus over the security of supply and industrial chains. The two sides are likely to actively seek consensus over regional security governance including the response to the Ukraine crisis.

According to Bloomberg, Borrell had to cancel a trip to Beijing this spring to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang after coming down with COVID. However, last week, he met senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meetings, Xinhua reported.

When meeting with Wang Yi, Borrell said that the EU does not support confrontation of camps and parallel systems. EU's "de-risking" does not target China in any sense and the EU has no intention of hindering China's development, he said. 

Common challenges facing China and the EU are on the rise, which increases the urgency of undertaking high-level dialogues and exchanges, observers said. They noted that the two sides should guard against the politicization and instrumentalization of economic issues and the use of the term "de-risking" as an alternative to "decoupling."

When Borrell met Wang last Friday, the EU foreign affairs chief stressed that the EU's "de-risking" does not target China in any sense and the EU has no intention of hindering China's development. 

Cui believes that during both the potential Borrell visit and the bilateral summit with the EU, China and Europe need to reach consensus and work together, and enhance communication in the process to figure out what the risks exactly are and how to address them together as partners.

But it should be noted that the "America factor" is intensifying its influence over the China-EU ties as the US has tried to rope its transatlantic allies into its rivalry with China, said Cui.

According to observers, the EU has long been entangled in a policy paradox - engaging with China to gain substantial benefits, while taking the side of the US for security and values. But as the paradox has become increasingly fierce, the EU should think comprehensively and with greater vision.