China's Xi Calls For 'proper Handling Of Frictions' At Tense Summit With E.u. Officials

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping urged apical European Union officials on Thursday to “properly grip differences and frictions” arsenic he criticized Brussels’s caller waste and acquisition actions against Beijing astatine a tense acme dominated by concerns connected trade and the Ukraine war.

Expectations were debased for nan acme successful nan Chinese superior marking 50 years of negotiated ties aft weeks of escalating tension and wrangling complete its format, pinch nan long abruptly halved to a azygous time astatine Beijing’s request.

“The existent challenges facing Europe do not travel from China,” Xi told visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, authorities news agency Xinhua said.

He urged nan E.U. to “adhere to unfastened practice and decently grip differences and frictions,” aft von der Leyen earlier called for a rebalancing of waste and acquisition ties pinch the world’s second-largest economy, saying relations were astatine an “inflection point.”

“Improving competitiveness cannot trust connected ‘building walls and fortresses,’” Xi added, according to Xinhua. “‘Decoupling and breaking chains’ will only consequence successful isolation.”

“It is hoped that nan European broadside will support nan waste and acquisition and finance marketplace unfastened and refrain from utilizing restrictive economical and waste and acquisition tools,” Xi said.

During nan gathering successful Beijing’s Great Hall of nan People, von der Leyen told Xi, “As our practice has deepened, truthful person imbalances,” according to a excavation report.

“We person reached an inflection point,” she added, urging China to “come guardant pinch existent solutions.”

She was referring to nan E.U.’s waste and acquisition shortage pinch China, which ballooned to a historical 305.8 cardinal euros ($360 billion) past year.

E.U. waste and acquisition actions successful nan past twelvemonth person targeted Chinese exports of EVs among different goods, and its officials person many times complained astir Chinese business overcapacity.

In a further cloaked disapproval of Brussels’s caller hawkish stance connected China, Xi besides warned E.U. leaders to “make correct strategical choices.”

The 2 E.U. officials were group to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang later. Both sides dream to scope a humble associated connection connected climate, now 1 of nan uncommon agleam spots successful their cooperation.

At nan commencement of President Donald Trump’s 2nd term, some sides had much of a statement successful moving together to tackle waste and acquisition challenges from nan United States, said Cui Hongjian, a overseas argumentation professor astatine Beijing Foreign Studies University.

“Recently nan business has changed,” Cui said. “The E.U. has continued to discuss pinch nan United States, which intends that location is presently a deficiency of impetus for E.U.-China ties to go closer.”

The run-up to nan acme saw tit-for-tat waste and acquisition disputes and hawkish European rhetoric, specified arsenic a July 8 accusation by von der Leyen that China was flooding world markets arsenic a consequence of its overcapacity and “enabling Russia’s warfare economy.”

In a post connected X connected Thursday, however, von der Leyen struck a much conciliatory tone, describing nan acme arsenic an opportunity to “both beforehand and rebalance our relationship.”

Topics nan Europeans are expected to raise successful nan talks are electrical vehicles and China’s uncommon world export controls that disrupted proviso chains worldwide, causing impermanent stoppages successful European automotive accumulation lines successful May.

But China’s exports of uncommon world magnets to nan E.U. surged successful June by 245% from May, to guidelines astatine 1,364 metric tons (1,503 short tons), though that was still 35% little than nan year-earlier figure, customs information showed.

The E.U. is apt to seal a trade woody pinch nan United States for a wide tariff of 15% connected its exports aft aggravated negotiations, avoiding a harsher 30% fig threatened by Trump.