China EU Photo:VCG

As agreed between China and the EU, the 24th China-EU Summit will be held in Beijing on December 7, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Monday. Some experts believe that as it is the first face-to-face China-EU summit in the post-COVID period, the two sides will have in-depth and candid discussions on major issues and increase mutual trust in addressing global challenges. 

President Xi Jinping will meet with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Premier Li Qiang, President Charles Michel and President Ursula von der Leyen will jointly chair the summit, the spokesperson said. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with diplomats from the Delegation of the EU to China and from EU member states on Monday, emphasizing that if China and Europe choose dialogue and cooperation, camp confrontation will not form; if China and Europe choose peace and stability, a new Cold War will not be ignited; if China and Europe choose openness and win-win cooperation, there will be hope for global development and prosperity. 

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on the two sides to adhere to mutual respect, remain calm and pragmatic and stick to strategic thinking. 

China has always viewed the development of China-EU relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, considering Europe an important pole in the process of multipolarization, supporting European integration, and supporting European strategic autonomy, Wang said.  

The 23rd China-EU summit took place in April 2022 when Chinese and EU leaders met via video link, and exchanged views on bilateral cooperation and the Ukraine crisis.

This year's summit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the China-EU Summit mechanism, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday. 

China and the EU are partners, not rivals and our common interests far exceed differences. China hopes that the summit will play an important role by building on past achievements, enhance understanding and mutual trust through strategic communication, boost mutually beneficial cooperation through innovation, and discuss solutions through dialogue and consultation, the spokesperson said

China and the EU are expected to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation through exploration and innovation, explore ideas to solve problems through dialogue and consultation, and work together to tackle global challenges, he said. 

China and the EU have resumed high-level exchanges in the post-COVID period since the end of the 2022 and maintained the momentum of engagement as leaders and officials from countries including Germany, France and Spain as well as from the European Council and the European Commission visited China over the year. Premier Li also visited Germany and France in June. 

Meanwhile, China-EU high-level dialogues in the fields of environment and climate, digital, economy, trade and strategy have been held successfully, and consultations in various fields have been advanced, injecting new impetus into the development of bilateral relations. 

The summit will be an opportunity to engage with China at the highest level and to pursue constructive and stable EU-China relations, the Delegation of the EU to China said in a statement on Monday. 

The focus of the summit will be the state of EU-China relations and international issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the situation in the Middle East, and leaders will discuss ways of ensuring a more balanced and reciprocal trade relationship, as well as areas of shared interest such as climate change, food security, global health and pandemic preparedness, according to the statement. 

The EU will advocate the need to support the multilateral rules-based international order and reaffirm its approach to de-risking and economic security, it noted. 

Von der Leyen was quoted as saying in a Reuters' report in mid-November that a key goal of the EU summit with China was to "achieve a level playing field in trade in light of market distortions." 

China has been defined as a partner, competitor and systemic rival by the EU. It has also launched a so-called anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from China recently, drawing strong opposition from the Chinese side. 

Those acts have indicated a paradox in its goal of maintaining cooperation in areas where the EU needs it while containing China and de-risking in other areas, some experts said, noting that those acts led EU into cognitive bias, and they interfered with the smooth progress of China-EU cooperation. 

"Despite the differences, China and the EU could seek more high-level consensuses by eyeing pragmatic cooperation and addressing global issues in order to push forward China-EU relations at a steady pace," Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, told the Global Times on Monday. 

For instance, the two sides can make joint efforts in promoting peace talks in both the Ukraine crisis and the Palestine-Israel conflict, and in the face of rising protectionism, they could explore more opportunities in digital and green economy, Zhao said. "In new energy cooperation, however, the EU is facing a new wave of protectionism, which may put up obstacles to China-EU cooperation." 

Xi mentioned many times that China and Europe are two major forces upholding world peace, two big markets promoting shared development, and two great civilizations promoting human progress. In his latest phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Xi said China and the EU should remain partners for mutually beneficial cooperation in a volatile and intertwined world.

"The resilience of China-EU relations means that though it seeks to contain China in some areas, it cannot tackle global issues without working with China," Zhao said, noting that China will dispel some of EU's doubts through pragmatic and reciprocal cooperation but won't compromise on some core issues.