The Chinese Communist Party and the European Union originally planned to hold a high-level summit in Beijing on July 24 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. However, with recent disputes emerging, the China-EU relationship has hit a low point, with growing divisions in trade, security, and other areas. The milestone significance of the China-EU summit is now in jeopardy.
According to a report by “The Economist”, in May of this year, the EU briefly showed friendliness towards China, saying they wanted to collaborate in addressing common challenges. However, insiders in Brussels revealed that half of this gesture was to show the United States, while the other half was genuine in trying to court China, indicating that the EU remains highly cautious at heart.
One of the core issues is trade disputes. Firstly, Europe is very unhappy with China’s low-priced dumping of electric vehicles. Chinese cars are 20% cheaper than local European ones, significantly impacting the local industry. The EU imposed tariffs of up to 45.3% last year to counter this. However, leading Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD still ambitiously aims to become the largest electric vehicle maker in Europe by 2030.
Secondly, Europe is extremely dissatisfied with China’s monopoly in the rare earth market. In April of this year, China introduced a new round of export controls on rare earths, causing a comprehensive emergency for the European automotive, aerospace, defense, and semiconductor industries. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, publicly criticized China for exploiting the rare earth monopoly and engaging in “dominance and coercion,” which is completely unacceptable.
Conflicts in security are also escalating. The EU accuses China of providing key components to Russian military enterprises, aiding the Russian military in continuing its operations in the Ukrainian battlefield. In addition, China frequently launches cyber-attacks against European countries, with the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs being hacked by Chinese hackers in May this year. The EU warned that if similar incidents occur again, they will take tough action.
The Taiwan issue is also deepening the divide. China’s continuous military threats against Taiwan have prompted various European countries to come out in support of Taiwan. Last year, a German warship crossed the Taiwan Strait for the first time, angering Beijing.
The report also mentions that China has not made genuine efforts to improve its relations with Europe, but instead continues to court individual countries like Germany and France, attempting to sow division within the EU. This approach has made the EU even more wary of China.