This year marks the 50th anniversary of the relationship between Beijing and Brussels.Traditionally, there would have been events ranging from political dialogues to cultural exchanges to celebrate the milestone of the bilateral relationship, as China did with many other countries.
However, this year’s China-EU relationship is far from celebratory.The 25th China-EU summit took place in Beijing with high-level attendance.Additionally, the leaders of the European Union had the opportunity to meet with President Xi of China.Yet, from restrained Chinese media coverage to the last-minute cancellation of economic events of the summit, China-EU relations are in a bleak state.
Unfortunately, EU-China relations are also likely to remain at the same level despite some early positive signals.The frosty relations between Beijing and Brussels come from three perspectives.The European Union’s China policy is extremely vague, which restrains what the EU could do when it comes to China-related issues.The Chinese also tend to work with individual countries within the European Union.Furthermore, the European Union continues to maintain a complex approach towards its other partners, which has also influenced its recent stance towards China.
The Vague EU Policy on China
The European Union does have a China policy, but it is far from concrete.According to the European Union’s 2019 strategy, China is described as “a partner for cooperation and negotiation, an economic competitor, and a systemic rival.”These three words are in stark contrast to each other.In 2023, the European Union also reflected that there are mutual interests between Beijing and Brussels in fostering constructive and stable relations, while also discussing ways to de-risk its interactions with China.
In reality, the European approach to China is almost doomed to fail.The strategy lacked a clear understanding of China and was inconsistent and contradictory.Fundamentally speaking, no country can be a partner, a competitor, and a rival at the same time.Many frictions between China and the EU are multifaceted.Economic issues often involve other related matters, such as geopolitics and environmental protection, among others.Indeed, the strategy needs to reflect some of the principles of the European Union.Yet, it is far from clear and consistent and also lacks the basic understanding of the multifaceted and intertwined nature of China-EU challenges.Ultimately, Brussels only provided blurred instructions instead of a clear roadmap for engaging with China.
When the strategy is flawed, the implementation is also likely to be flawed.The direct consequence is that China-EU relations undergo twists and turns.In 2023 alone, while the EU calls for de-risking with its interactions with Beijing, it also issued reports that pinpoint the common interest in fostering constructive and stable relations.More recently, China and the EU have achieved a breakthrough in resolving trade disputes while continuing to make progress on environmental issues.
Yet, before the visit to Beijing, President von der Leyen delivered a speech at the Parliament, directly targeting the Chinese role in the global economic system.At the same time, the speech has taken a critical view of the Chinese role in the Russia-Ukraine War.This speech happened in the same year as the trade negotiation and environmental collaboration.This further indicates the inconsistent nature of the EU’s vision in China.To borrow a Chinese saying, “To give someone a slap, then offer a sweet date.”However, the back-and-forth only erodes the bilateral trust.
The Beijing government has expressed growing dissatisfaction with this approach.At the Foreign Ministry press conference, the Beijing government reiterated its disapproval of the EU’s stance on Beijing.At the China-EU Summit, although China signed a joint statement on environmental issues, no additional topics were covered.Chinese state media coverage also toned down its coverage of the event, while the government canceled one of the side events on economic matters.The cold handling further expressed Beijing’s dissatisfaction with the European Commission.
Beijing’s Approach
The Chinese government has also chosen a different approach in dealing with European affairs.While Beijing continued to work with the European Commission on specific issues, particularly environmental matters, it also focused on its relationship with individual member states.
Meanwhile, the attitude towards China among European Union member states is divided.On the one hand, there were states like Lithuania, for which China has no diplomat left in the country.More recently, China announced that it will not engage with Czech President Pavel in any capacity.On the other hand, the Beijing government maintained close collaborative relations with other European nations on issues from nuclear energy to education.This has provided Beijing with diplomatic leverage to negotiate with individual states.While the European Union has been shifting its attitude towards the Beijing government, the bilateral communication between China and EU member states may prove to be a more effective way.
One notable example of this approach is the Chinese negotiations with the European Union on trade issues.In the recent trade disputes over EVs, China recognized that European Union members held divergent views on the issues; hence, China targeted individual EU members in addressing the trade disputes.In the official communique of the European leaders visiting China, the Beijing government has consistently expressed willingness to coordinate with these governments.For the countries that supported the tariffs, such as France, China chose to directly impose new tariffs and restrictions on France’s main exports—agricultural products.
Europe’s Political Challenges
The European Union’s complicated approach towards China is also influenced by its tangled relations with its other partners, especially the United States.While the United States remains a significant trading partner with the European Union and key security allies, the crack between Washington, DC, and the European Union has grown bigger than ever.When American leaders unleashed an attack on Europe and imposed tariffs on EU exports, the European Union seemed to reach a point of no return with the United States.
During that short time window, there could be some potential collaborations between China and the European Union.As the tension with the United States reached a new level, collaborating with Beijing seemed to be a practical option.In April, Beijing and Brussels released some positive signals in cooperating on trade-related topics and participating in “a strong reformed trading system, free, fair, and founded on a level playing field.”
However, a few months later, things have shifted.The European Union has made significant progress in reaching a trade deal with the United States, thereby resolving one of the primary issues between the two entities.Indeed, the divide on defense issues still exists.Yet, the recent Trump-Putin talk indicated that an “agreement” on Ukraine is still far ahead.The Europeans are also not new to Trump’s rhetoric on security issues.As for Beijing, solving individual issues is an arduous process, let alone building long-lasting trust.If there was a time window for China-EU collaboration, it has already passed.
Conclusion
The EU’s relations with Beijing have never been smooth.However, the recent years’ challenges have made the relationship development even harder.The self-contradiction almost guaranteed frictions in EU-China relations.The Chinese also chose to approach individual states instead of the EU as a whole.While there was a short time window for the EU and China to seek greater common ground, that time window has passed as the EU-US relations have been soothed.These reasons, combined, created the current predicament in EU-China relations.
