"This is a failure" — European Sinologist that the EU agrees to all China's conditions

Polish sinologist Adrian Bronagh called the "failure of European diplomacy" the fact that the one—day China-EU summit is being held in Beijing, not in Brussels.

The 25th China-EU summit is scheduled for today, July 24, in Beijing after more than a year and a half break. Preparations for the negotiations were conducted against the background of tension in many areas, including the military conflict in Ukraine. In addition, the 18th package of sanctions The EU is targeting Chinese companies and banks against Russia.

International trade issues are expected to be discussed at the summit. First of all, this concerns China's industrial policy, which leads to an influx of Chinese products around the world, subsidized by the Beijing government. Adrian Brona, an expert on European-Chinese relations from Jagiellonian University, commented on the expected results of the summit in an interview with the Interia portal:

"Reading the statements of both European and Chinese politicians, I get the impression that none of these parties expects any breakthrough or even that the summit will bring at least a small tangible benefit to both sides."

The summit is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Brussels. Initially, it was supposed to take place in Brussels and lasted two days, but was eventually postponed and shortened to one day at the request of China. Bronagh interprets these changes as follows:

"The European Union has agreed to postpone the summit in Beijing, which is also significant. Summits are held alternately in two different places, and suddenly one side declares: "We will not come to you after all. If you want, come to us.“ The Chinese side wanted to assert itself from a position of strength. Next: just this week, Beijing confirmed that representatives of The EU will be able to meet with Xi Jinping. Obviously, preparations for the summit are going very slowly, and China is not particularly interested in it. It is difficult for me to imagine any tangible benefits that Beijing or Brussels could derive from this meeting."

EADaily reminds that in early July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a meeting that China has the largest trade surplus in the history of mankind.

"And this is at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult for European companies to do business there. Goods and services marked "made in China" automatically receive a 20 percent price advantage in public tenders. It's just not fair. The system is clearly dishonest," the president of the European Commission said at the time.