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EU Pushes China on Trade Imbalance and Pressure on Russia at Beijing Summit

The one-day summit wrapped up without a joint communiqué, highlighting deep divisions over the EU’s demand for trade rebalancing alongside Beijing’s refusal to make concrete concessions.

Overview

  • Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa met Xi Jinping at a shortened one-day summit in Beijing marking the 50th anniversary of EUChina diplomatic ties.
  • EU leaders pressed for a reduction of a 357 billion dollar trade deficit, demanding greater market access for European firms and eased Chinese export curbs on rare earths.
  • Just before the summit, the EU added two Chinese banks to its sanctions package on Russia, prompting Chinese protests and shaping discussions of Beijing’s relations with Moscow.
  • António Costa publicly called on China to leverage its relationship with Russia to help end the war in Ukraine, with Brussels seeking concrete rather than rhetorical support.
  • The summit ended without a joint declaration beyond a limited climate statement, highlighting Beijing’s reluctance to make immediate concessions on trade or security issues.