EU, Beijing set to hold summit in China in July
by AFP Staff Writers
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) April 11, 2025

Top EU officials and Chinese leaders are due to hold their next summit marking 50 years of ties in China in July, a spokesperson for the European Council said on Friday.

The European Union had announced plans for a summit in January, before US President Donald Trump took office and unleashed swingeing tariffs.

"We are coordinating with China to set a date for the meeting, which is expected to take place in China in the second half of July," said the official at the council, the body representing the EU's 27 countries.

The bloc faces a delicate balancing act, seeking to negotiate with an unpredictable ally in Washington to avoid tariffs and the need to diversify trading partners, with its bid to hold the line on its own trade concerns regarding China.

Earlier on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the EU to join hands with Beijing in resisting "unilateral bullying", referring to sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump.

The heads of the EU's two main institutions -- the Council and the European Commission -- have held regular summits with China's leadership but did not meet in 2024.

China, EU must 'jointly resist unilateral bullying', Xi tells Spanish PM
Beijing (AFP) April 11, 2025 - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the European Union on Friday to join hands with Beijing in resisting "unilateral bullying", in reference to swingeing tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

As he met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday, state news agency Xinhua said Xi had stressed the need for cooperation between the bloc and China in weathering Beijing's mounting trade war with Washington.

"China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities... and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices," Xi said.

This, he stressed, would not only "safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also... safeguard international fairness and justice."

Sanchez, in turn, told a press conference following his meeting with Xi that tensions over trade should not impede cooperation between the European Union and China.

Spain buys about 45 billion euros ($49.1 billion) of goods every year from China, its fourth-largest trading partner, but sells around 7.4 billion euros' worth.

"Both Spain and Europe have a significant trade deficit with China that we must work to rectify," he admitted.

But, he said, "we must not let trade tensions stand in the way of the potential growth of the relationship between China and Spain and between China and the EU".

Sanchez's trip comes as the European Union rethinks its global trading relationships in the face of turmoil caused by the US import duties announced last week that have sent world markets into a tailspin.

The Socialist prime minister is on his third visit to China in just over two years.

Sanchez broke with the rest of the European Union on his last trip to China in September 2024, urging the bloc to reconsider plans to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric cars and calling for a "fair trade order".

The bloc argued that the tariffs were necessary to protect European producers from unfair competition from state-backed Chinese firms.

His visit to China follows a trip to Vietnam, where in Hanoi on Wednesday he and his counterpart Pham Minh Chinh signed a joint declaration aiming to elevate ties to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

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