Overview

• During a four-hour meeting in Brussels, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas that Beijing cannot accept a Russian defeat in Ukraine out of fear the United States would then turn its full focus to China.
• Shortly after the exchange, China successfully lobbied to reduce the EU-China summit from two days to one at its own request, highlighting mounting diplomatic tensions.
• Despite private warnings favoring a protracted war, China publicly maintains a stance of neutrality and continues to advocate negotiation, a ceasefire and peace talks.
• Bilateral disputes over EU sanctions on two small Chinese banks and Beijing’s export controls on rare earth elements and magnets remain unresolved, even as licence processing times have been marginally reduced.
• Chinese experts have cautioned that a Russian defeat could risk losing control of Moscow’s nuclear arsenal, reinforcing Beijing’s broader security concerns.