When the European Union holds summits with partner countries, these are usually preceded by intense negotiations on a final communiqué. But when EU and Chinese leaders met by video conference on Friday, none of this had been prepared. There is no joint statement, a senior EU official said before the end of the consultations, nor a joint press conference. “Today’s meeting is not normal because it was a war summit,” EU Council President Charles Michel later said. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a “turning point” in relations. Both asked the Chinese president the crucial question that, from a European point of view, precedes everything else: what do you think of Russia’s war of aggression, Xi Jinping?
This point was so important that Brussels made it loud and clear. “The EU will call on China to strengthen the rules-based international order and uphold universal values and principles,” he said in a written statement accompanying the summit, the first since June 2020. “The EU firmly believes that neutrality is not possible in this war. China must not help Russia to neutralize or undermine the effects of EU and Western sanctions.” This was the main message that Michel and von der Leyen conveyed to the Chinese leadership.
Beginning of a new era between Russia and China?
Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU was alarmed by the stance of Beijing and Moscow. At the start of the Olympic Games, Presidents Xi and Vladimir Putin met in early February and issued a statement “against further expansion of NATO”. While they touted this as the beginning of a “new era”, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell complained of a “revisionist manifesto”. The head of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with China, Reinhard Bütikofer, even speaks of a “Moscow-Beijing axis” that aims to usher in a “new era of authoritarian policy by great powers”. The green politician is convinced that there is no going back on China and that the EU must also impose sanctions on Beijing.
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The Council and the Commission note with concern that official Chinese propaganda is adopting Russian narratives. Moscow is sometimes praised for its supposed protection of the civilian population in Ukraine, then suspicion is perpetuated that Washington is helping Kiev to develop biological weapons. But there is still hope that Beijing will protect its interests independently of Moscow. China abstained from two UN votes condemning Russia’s war of aggression – this could be a clue. The country has the best interest in upholding the principle of territorial integrity, the EU official explained, if only because of its claim to Taiwan. Furthermore, it is economically dependent on political stability and close ties with the West.