During a visit to Paris, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Europe remains a policy “priority” for Beijing. Meanwhile, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned of Chinese oversupply leading to imbalances.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that Europe remains a foreign policy priority for Beijing.
He made the comments during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris.
In recent years, trade tensions have intensified between China and the EU and the bloc has increasingly moved to reduce its dependence on the world’s second-largest economy.
Xi is scheduled to visit Hungary and Serbia after his trip to France.
Xi calls for continued partnership with EU
The Chinese leader said that Brussels and Beijing should stay committed to partnership.
He said that China always sees relations with Europe from a strategic and long-term perspective and said that the continent is a priority of its foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Macron told Xi that it was important for the EU and China to coordinate on “major crises” such as Ukraine and the Middle East. He also stressed for “fair rules for all” in Europe-China trade.
“The future of our continent will very clearly depend on our ability to continue to develop relations with China in a balanced manner,” Macron said.
EU’s von der Leyen accuses China of ‘market distortion’
Similarly, von der Leyen warned against what she called China’s “market distortion practices,” saying that state subsidies for electric vehicle and steel industries could lead to the “de-industrialization of Europe.”
“China is currently manufacturing, with massive subsidies, more than it is selling due to its own weak domestic demand,” she said.
“This is leading to an oversupply of Chinese subsidized goods, such as EVs [electric vehicles] and steel, that is leading to unfair trade,” von der Leyen stressed.
She said that the world cannot absorb China’s surplus production and that Brussels would coordinate with the G7 group of countries that are affected by China’s policies.
“Current imbalances in market access are not sustainable and need to be addressed,” she declared, calling for the EU to strengthen the resilience of its supply chains.
The European Commission has announced that it will examine possible tariffs on electric cars from China.
However, von der Leyen also stressed that the EU was not seeking to “decouple from China.”
Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022, European officials have increasingly called for “de-risking” the EU’s relationship to China.
Von der Leyen also called for Russia to exert influence on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine as well as to de-escalate its nuclear threats.
Source: Dw
