China and the European Union are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties despite being locked in a geopolitical and economic deadlock in the recent past. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that Beijing and the EU have no fundamental conflicts of interest. A Chinese state media outlet on Thursday, citing Xi, said challenges facing the EU at the moment did not emanate from China but from elsewhere.
According to the report, "The more severe and complex the international situation is, the more important it is for China and the EU to strengthen communication, increase mutual trust, and deepen cooperation.”
Xi called on the EU to remain open for trade and investment and to stop imposing restrictive measures amid global uncertainties sparked by the US president. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that EU-China ties had reached an "inflection point" as she met Xi Jinping in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.
Also Read: Trade with China, EU 'in favour' of India in 2023: Govt
She said, “As our cooperation has deepened, so have imbalances. We have reached an inflection point.”
Meanwhile, the trade deficit between the two sides rose to historic levels of €306 billion ($360 billion) last year. The disagreement between the two sides arose mainly due to China’s closed-end approach for EU firms, control over rare earth minerals and subsidies favouring Chinese companies.
Chinese media on Thursday reported that Beijing remains a "critical partner" to the European Union with a range of shared interests. Therefore, the existence and future of both sides are intertwined with each other. It comes as both Beijing and Brussels tackle delicate geopolitical and financial tensions. Relations between the two sides have also been under stress due to trade frictions.
Follow us
