China, EU leaders to discuss trade and foreign policy in Beijing

2018-07-16
CGTN

In the coming hours, leaders from China and the European Union will meet in Beijing.

The 20th China-EU leaders meeting comes at an interesting political moment. With both sides facing trade pressure from the US Trump Administration. China and EU — each engaged in trade wars with the US each answering US tariffs on its products — with stiff tariffs of their own. Billions of dollars’ worth of commerce impacted. Ahead of meeting on July 16, Beijing extended an invitation to the EU to jointly fight trade unilateralism.

In an editorial, China’s Ambassador to the EU, Zhang Ming, writes: “I hope that during the summit, China and the EU will consolidate consensus and trust, enhance cooperation, and send a joint message of defending multilateralism, free trade and investment facilitation.”

Together, China and the EU represent a significant force — accounting for almost half of all global trade. The EU is looking for China to speed up the process of opening its market. Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang promised more cooperation with European companies during his European tour last week. Besides trade and investment, both sides are also expected to talk about climate change, the Iran nuclear deal, Syria, and other international challenges.