48 h. ago ‘Pessimistic’: Ukraine war, trade expected to mar progress at China

European Union envoys to China say they have low expectations of any substantial achievement at the coming EU-China summit, citing complex trade challenges and the ongoing Ukraine war. “I am sorry to be pessimistic – the next EU-China summit will be a wonderful summit with wonderful statements of principles, but I doubt that we will get some strategic incremental progress,” Italy’s ambassador to China, Massimo Ambrosetti, said at the World Peace Forum in Beijing on Friday. European Commission...

Events

58 h. ago Why France is toasting China’s new tariff on European brandy

China’s new anti-dumping duty targeting European brandy unexpectedly became the toast of France over the weekend, after Beijing granted exemptions to a string of French cognac makers. The cordial reaction in Paris came as a surprise to many analysts, who had initially predicted that China’s decision to impose the tariff might further raise tensions with the European Union and sour preparations for an upcoming leaders’ summit in Beijing. But French leaders ended up hailing the ruling as a...

Economics

5 d. ago Rare earth exports should never come between us, China’s Wang Yi tells Europeans

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has downplayed EU concerns over restrictions on rare earth exports and offered assurances that the needs of European companies will be met if they adhere to proper application procedures. Controlling dual-use goods was a sovereign right and an international responsibility for all nations, Wang said during a joint news conference on Thursday with his German counterpart in Berlin. He was responding to a question about European companies’ unease over Beijing’s...

Politics

5 d. ago Rare earth exports should never come between us, China’s Wang Yi tells Europe

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has downplayed EU concerns over restrictions on rare earth exports and offered assurances that the needs of European companies will be met if they adhere to proper application procedures. Controlling dual-use goods was a sovereign right and an international responsibility for all nations, Wang said during a news conference with his German counterpart in Berlin on Thursday. He was responding to a question about European companies’ unease over Beijing’s export...

Politics

5 d. ago China tells EU it cannot afford Russian loss in Ukraine war, sources say

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat on Wednesday that Beijing cannot afford a Russian loss in Ukraine because it fears the United States would then shift its whole focus to Beijing, according to several people familiar with the exchange. The comment, to the EU’s Kaja Kallas, would confirm what many in Brussels believe to be Beijing’s position but jar with China’s public utterances. The foreign minstry regularly says China is “not a party” to the war. Some EU...

Events

5 d. ago China tells EU it does not want to see Russia lose its war in Ukraine: sources

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat on Wednesday that Beijing does not want to see a Russian loss in Ukraine because it fears the United States would then shift its whole focus to Beijing, according to several people familiar with the exchange. The comment, to the EU’s Kaja Kallas, would confirm what many in Brussels believe to be Beijing’s position but jar with China’s public utterances. The foreign minstry regularly says China is “not a party” to the war....

Events

6 d. ago China is not US, and challenges to Europe won’t come from Beijing: Top diplomat

China is not US, and challenges to Europe won’t come from Beijing: Top diplomat  usmuslims.com

Politics

6 d. ago Europe has many challenges but none come from China, Wang Yi tells EU

China has presented itself as a “peaceful, inclusive and cooperative” partner for the European Union and pledged it will not follow the path taken by the US. In a meeting with EU representatives in Brussels on Wednesday, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi urged the bloc to “truly foster a rational understanding” of China and not seek confrontation despite their division. “China and Europe have different histories, cultures and values. We should not regard each other as opponents just because of...

Politics

6 d. ago Wang Yi tells top EU officials to unite against ‘unilateralism and bullying’

Beijing’s top envoy has called for China and Europe to join forces against “unilateralism and bullying” in a thinly veiled swipe at the United States, after meeting European Union leaders in Brussels. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, before sitting down for marathon political talks with the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas that were expected to run over dinner. “The world today...

Politics

7 d. ago Beijing HyperStrong and Repono link for 1.4GW energy storage in Europe

Beijing HyperStrong and Repono link for 1.4GW energy storage in Europe  Yahoo Finance

Politics

7 d. ago Iran Pivots Toward China, But Is Beijing Ready To Play Ball?

Iran Pivots Toward China, But Is Beijing Ready To Play Ball?  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Events

8 d. ago Beijing slams US official, EU body for attack on Hong Kong national security law

Beijing has hit out at a United States official and the European Union’s diplomatic wing for attacking Hong Kong’s national security legislation, criticising their “hypocrisy” and “malicious intention” of containing China by going after the city. The statement from China’s foreign ministry arm in Hong Kong on Tuesday was in response to remarks by Jim Risch, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the European External Action Service. Risch said that Hong Kong had become...

Events

1 week ago Exclusive: Beijing ties cognac deal to EV tariff talks with Europe

Exclusive: Beijing ties cognac deal to EV tariff talks with Europe  Reuters

Economics

1 week ago Ahead of a crunch summit with China, the EU is complaining of ‘stinking fish’

A month out from a crunch summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the European Union, senior EU officials have landed on an unsavoury term to describe their trade ties with China: “the stinking fish.” The analogy, used when briefing member state diplomats on progress in trade talks with China, refers to the European Commission’s frustration that each of its top demands from Beijing is around the removal of measures that were introduced to punish Europe or the US. Brussels...

Politics

2 w. ago China decries latest EU trade salvo putting medical devices in the line of fire

China has hit back at the EU’s decision to exclude Chinese companies from the 27-member bloc’s public tenders for multi-million-euro medical devices – the latest items on a growing list of trade disputes between Beijing and Brussels. “The European side has disregarded the goodwill and sincerity that China has repeatedly conveyed through bilateral dialogues,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday. “China is strongly dissatisfied with the decision and resolutely opposes...

Events

2 w. ago Meloni launches Europe's new vision for Africa, challenging Beijing's dominance in continent

Meloni launches Europe's new vision for Africa, challenging Beijing's dominance in continent  Sakshi Post

Politics

2 w. ago ‘We’re not billiard balls’: how China’s EU charm offensive fell flat

For half a year, a heated debate has raged over whether US President Donald Trump’s return to office would push Europe and China closer together. Pragmatists, realpolitikers and Beijing’s allies argued that the EU could not afford a trade war with both of the world’s largest economies while footing the bill for a hot war in Ukraine. For months, EU leaders fuelled the speculation by voicing openness to deeper trade ties with Beijing, in a dramatic rhetorical shift from the previous three years of...

Politics

3 w. ago Wedged between Washington and Beijing, Europe seeks a way forward

Wedged between Washington and Beijing, Europe seeks a way forward  Euractiv

Events

3 w. ago ‘A new China shock’: von der Leyen revives hard line on Beijing at G7 summit

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has accused Beijing of deliberately creating a near-monopoly in the global supply of rare earth elements, then weaponising the world’s reliance on those chains. Addressing the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Monday, von der Leyen made a hawkish return to form, reversing a course of toned-down criticism of China spurred by the return of US President Donald Trump in January. In two separate speeches in the first two months of the year, she...

Politics