EU warns China that ties have ‘reached inflection point’ at tense Beijing summit

24 Jul 2025 18:31
24 Jul 2025 18:39

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EU warns China that ties have ‘reached inflection point’ at tense Beijing summit

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As the 25th China-EU summit began in Beijing, Xi Jinping urged European officials to "properly handle differences and frictions," amid growing tensions over trade and the ongoing Ukraine war.

“The current challenges facing Europe do not come from China,” state news agency Xinhua quoted the Chinese leader telling European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa on Thursday, News.Az reports citing The Independent.

The summit marks 50 years of the establishment of EU-China ties.

Expectations are muted as the summit is being held under the shadow of growing trade tensions and hawkish EU rhetoric towards Beijing.

Ms von der Leyen earlier this month accused China of using its manufacturing overcapacity to flood global markets and of “enabling Russia’s war economy”.

The two sides differ significantly on the Ukraine war as China backs Russia’s position on the conflict while the EU provides military, economic and diplomatic support to Kyiv.

In addition to Mr Xi, Ms von der Leyen and Mr Costa are expected to meet premier Li Qiang, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Mr Xi urged the EU officials at the summit to "adhere to open cooperation and properly handle differences and frictions" after Ms von der Leyen warned that the bloc’s ties with China were at an “inflection point” and called for a rebalancing of trade ties with the world's second largest economy.

“Improving competitiveness can’t rely on 'building walls and fortresses’. ‘Decoupling and breaking chains' will only result in isolation,” Mr Xi added, according to Xinhua.

News.Az