EU warns China of trade imbalance
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel in Beijing on Thursday, according to the official Xinhua news agency, quoted by Agerpres.ro.
The two European leaders are in Beijing for a summit between the European Union and China, focused specifically on the trade imbalance between the two partners, which has worsened in recent years.
The summit, the first in-person meeting between EU leaders and Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang since 2019, takes place as diplomatic exchanges between Brussels and Beijing are resuming after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, which isolated China from the rest of the world.
In recent months, several European commissioners have travelled to China to renew in-person dialogue.
However, there are still many divisive issues between the EU and its largest economic partner, whether it is the significant trade deficit or the war in Ukraine.
"The European Union will not tolerate an imbalance in its trade with China forever," von der Leyen warned on Tuesday, while expressing her preference for "negotiated solutions."
"A rebalancing of trade with the EU is also in China's interests," she stressed, calling on Beijing to "carefully examine" the options on the table.
"This is a summit of options," von der Leyen insisted, and "more positive options can be decided to improve the situation."
The EU's trade deficit with China has doubled in the past two years, reaching a record high of €390 billion in 2022, the European Commission president noted.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
