The President of People’s Republic of China – Xi Jinping on September 14, 2020, co-hosted a China-Europe Union (E.U.)-Germany Leader’s Summit via video conferencing where he called for healthy and stable development of their comprehensive strategic partnership.
The meet was also attended by Chancellor of Germany – Angela Merkel whose country holds the E.U.’s rotating presidency, the President of European Council – Charles Michel and President of European Commission – Ursula von der Leyen.
The Summit is also important as China seeks to keep E.U. away from aligning more closely with the U.S. on disputes ranging from market access to human rights.
Addressing the Summit, Xi said that China and E.U. should be committed to peaceful coexistence, open cooperation, multilateralism and dialogue, and consultation. He also said that the world is undergoing profound changes as they tackle the Coronavirus (COVIOD-19) outbreak.
The meeting was originally intended to include representatives from all 27 EU members in Leipzig to mark Germany’s six-month Chairmanship of the E.U. Council but was later decided to be held online. Meanwhile, 2020 marks the completion of 45 years of establishment of China-E.U. diplomatic ties.
Germany is also looking forward to continuing conversation with China and set an example for multilateralism. Germany also wants to explore a possibility of working together in the fields of climate protection.
Taking it to twitter, Charles Michel tweeted, “2nd meeting with President Xi this year shows our commitment to making progress despite our differences. Crucial to engage China, while upholding EU interests & values. Time for real action to address imbalances and to show global leadership. #EUChina.”
Participating in the Summit, Ursula von der Leyen tweeted, “Taking part in our video conference with Chinese President Xi. Looking forward to frank & open discussions. Engagement at the highest level with China is crucial if we are to promote European economic interests, protect our climate & defend fundamental values and rights. #EUChina.”
Earlier in the day, prior to the Summit, EU and China signed a deal to protect each other’s exported food and drinks items from feta cheese to Pixian bean paste. The 2 sides will respect the names of 100 European regional food designations and 100 Chinese equivalents. For example, China will only allow “champagne” to be used on sparkling wine from the French region of that name. The United States (U.S.), Australian or New Zealand producers will no longer be able to use the protected names on their exports to China, although there is a transition period for certain cheeses.
In 2019, China was the third-largest destination for E.U. agricultural and food products worth 14.5 billion euros (U.S. $ 17.2 billions).
Goes without saying, the relations between China and EU have not been very good in the recent past.
The COVID-19 created new obstacles which Brussels sees as a China-orchestrated campaign of disinformation about the disease that could put lives at risk. Then there was implementation of New National Security Law in Hong Kong by China. This received quite a criticism globally.
The deal is of equal importance for both China and E.U. The Chinese have been engaged in trade war with the U.S. The EU is also eyeing a deal, as its trade is also impacted owing to Brexit.
