In a bid to counter the United States’ growing stance on protectionism, China and the European Union team up and plan an early summit in Brussels, Reuters reported. Three officials from the EU confirmed the plan.
Usually held in July every year, China has especially requested that the summit with the EU take place as early as possible. The Chinese foreign ministry has declined to comment.
A fixed date has yet to be decided, but insiders predict it will be scheduled in April or May.
The EU officials believe that China plans to use the summit as a means to reiterate President Xi Jinping’s firm position on the defense of open trade and global ties, which he has emphasized during the World Economic Forum last January.
“With an early summit, China wants to send a message to the United States that it has friends in Europe,” one EU official told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the EU plans to use the summit to gain China’s vocal support on international organizations such as the United Nations.
“With this drive by some countries to undermine or weaken international institutions, we would want to see China supporting and believing in the United Nations, the World Trade Organization,” another EU official said.
The EU, however, remains cautious in its approach to China, its second-largest trading partner. The EU is particularly concerned with the latter’s steel exports, Xi’s authoritarianism, and the militarization of islands in the South China Sea.
Things haven't always been easy between China and the EU. When leaders from both parties last met in Beijing in 2016, China’s claims to the South China Sea were deemed unlawful by an international tribunal.
Despite previous setbacks, the EU and China are hopeful that the early summit will be an advantageous move for their common interest.
“If China wants to help uphold the rules-based global order, then we welcome that. But we also say: let’s see some concrete steps,” a third unnamed EU official told Reuters in an interview.