Top leaders from China and the European Union will hold a summit in Beijing this week, as the major economic powers seek to smooth over disputes ranging from trade to the Ukraine conflict.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, July 21st, that European Council President António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will visit on Thursday.
Trade tensions have cast a shadow over preparations for the meetings. The two sides have criticised each other for what each sees as violations of the principle of fair trade.
Von der Leyen said Brussels would demand that China eases market access for European companies and loosens export controls on strategically crucial rare earths.
Beijing, for its part, has said the EU must change its mentality and “properly handle divergences and frictions.”
The EU has also imposed hefty tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, arguing that Beijing’s industrial subsidies were unfairly undercutting European competitors.
Beijing has repudiated that claim as well, and announced what were widely seen as retaliatory probes into imported European pork, brandy, and dairy products.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has been another bone of contention, with the EU taking the view that China has been tacitly supporting Russia’s invasion—an allegation that Beijing denies.
