Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (right) with his Latvian and Danish counterparts Arturs Krisjanis Karins and Mette Frederiksen at the European Summit in Brussels March 24, 2023. GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT / AP
Although the agenda of the heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) during the summit on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th March was extensive, one topic kept coming up in the mouths of the participants, although it was not supposed to be addressed officially : China. “It was in the background of almost all discussions: Ukraine, industry, energy, trade,” notes a European source. Even Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, mentioned the world’s second largest economy to urge Europeans not to try to isolate it.
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That this issue has come to the fore comes as no surprise just two days after Vladimir Putin received Xi Jinping with great fanfare in Moscow. A meeting at which the “Position for a Political Solution to the Ukraine Crisis” proposed by the Chinese President was discussed. And also a week after the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore their diplomatic relations, which Beijing made possible to conclude.
European leaders had reason to be amazed at China’s diplomatic activism. For Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins, the meeting between MM. Xi and Putin in Moscow should be “a way for Europe to open its eyes. Many thought that China would play the role of mediator [entre la Russie et l’Ukraine]. China has not done this, it is open to Russia. This is a great challenge and a great difficulty for Europe.” Several other heads of state shared this malice. “We saw that China has influence on Russia, we would have liked to use it to raise the issue of respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Ukraine journalists on Thursday evening.
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China-EU Summit
The long-term nature of the war in Ukraine, the rapprochement between Washington and the old continent, which became clear during Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to the United States on March 10, but also this closeness between Beijing and Moscow or even the world race Green tech requires China to be put back on the table, according to the entourage of Charles Michel, President of the European Council. “At some point, European leaders will have to revisit the issue of China,” confides a senior European official.
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