European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to “responsibly address and manage the concerns” that China and the European Union have “when their interests do not coincide ”.
Von der Leyen, who is in the Chinese capital together with European Council President Charles Michel on the occasion of the 24th summit between the Asian country and the EU, stated that “there are clear imbalances and trade differences that need to be addressed” .
The European official also said Brussels and Beijing must “find solutions to global challenges.”
“It is essential to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine and establish a just and lasting peace” and “do everything possible to work towards a two-state solution in the Middle East,” he said .
“We have a common interest in peace and security, the effective functioning of a rules-based international order and the search for solutions to global challenges,” he added.
The EU attaches “great importance” to its relationship with China, taking into account the “huge commercial and investment interests” between the two sides.
“It is important that we can manage our relationships and important common economic and geopolitical interests. This is important for both the EU and China because of the direct impact it has on the prosperity and security of our people. Sometimes our interests coincide. But if not, we must address and manage the concerns responsibly,” he said.
Von der Leyen stated that it is necessary to “rebalance” economic relations, taking into account the “clear imbalances and disparities”, and emphasized the importance of “reducing risks and strengthening the resilience of our economies ‘.
“That is why the EU is working to ensure the security of its supply chains, critical infrastructures and technological and industrial bases,” Xi said.
The European Commission leader also stated that the two sides will discuss cooperation on climate change and “how to increase cooperation on global artificial intelligence standards.”
“Our teams have had several dialogues in recent months: on climate, trade and digital issues. It is also very positive that our dialogue on human rights has resumed. These are important issues. All these dialogues have helped us to clarify our respective positions,” he concluded.
Xi Jinping said at the meeting that the Asian country and the EU, “as driving forces of multilateralism and globalization”, “have a shared responsibility to provide greater stability and leadership to the world”.
The Chinese president stated that Brussels and Beijing should “learn historical lessons”, “understand the global trend” and “show wisdom and responsibility”, while maintaining “the right direction of the bilateral relationship”.
Xi also called on both sides to “be partners” and “strengthen political trust, strategic consensus, interest ties, dialogue and cooperation.”
Since China opened its borders at the beginning of this year, a series of high-level European visits to the country followed, including from Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Vice President of the European Commission and responsible for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, or the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
The China-EU summit was not held in person during the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Relations have been rocked by Beijing’s stance on the war in Ukraine and by trade disputes sparked by an investigation into subsidies the Asian country gave to electric vehicle makers, as well as China’s growing trade surplus in trade with Europe.
Source: DN
