China's Top Diplomat Visits Europe Pitching Closer Ties in 'Volatile' World
China's top diplomat heads to Europe on Monday for a visit which Beijing said will highlight ties as an "anchor of stability" in a world in turmoil.
Wang Yi's tour will take him to the European Union's headquarters in Brussels as well as France and Germany as China seeks to improve relations with the bloc as a counterweight to superpower rival the United States.
But deep frictions remain over the economy -- including a yawning trade deficit of $357.1 billion between China and the EU -- and Beijing's close ties with Russia despite Moscow's war in Ukraine, AFP said.
"The world is undergoing an accelerated evolution of a century-old change, with unilateralism, protectionism and bullying behavior becoming rampant," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Friday -- a thinly veiled swipe against the United States under President Donald Trump.
In that context, Guo said, Beijing and the European bloc must "keep the world peaceful and stable, safeguard multilateralism, free trade, international rules, fairness and justice, and act firmly as anchors of stability and constructive forces in a volatile world".
Wang will meet with his EU counterpart, Kaja Kallas, at the bloc's headquarters in Brussels for "high-level strategic dialogue".
In Germany, he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on diplomacy and security -- his first visit since Berlin's new conservative-led government took power in May.
And in France, Wang will meet minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, who visited China in March.
The war in Ukraine will likely be high on the agenda, with European leaders having been forthright in condemning what they say is Beijing's backing for Moscow.
China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in Russia's more than three-year war with Ukraine.
But Western governments say Beijing's close ties have given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support, and they have urged China to do more to press Russia to end the war.
Trade tensions
Ties between Europe and China have also strained in recent years as the EU seeks to get tougher on what it says are unfair economic practices by Beijing.
After the European bloc placed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, China retaliated with its own duties, including on French cognac.
An agreement on cognac has been reached with Beijing but not formally approved by the Chinese commerce ministry, a source in the French economy ministry told AFP.
The source said finalization was partially linked with the EU's ongoing negotiations over EVs.
Tensions flared this month after the EU banned Chinese firms from government medical device purchases worth more than five million euros ($5.8 million), in retaliation for limits Beijing places on access to its own market.
The latest salvo in trade tensions between the 27-nation bloc and China covered a wide range of healthcare supplies, from surgical masks to X-ray machines, that represent a market worth 150 billion euros in the EU.
In response, China accused the European Union of "double standards".
Another sticking point has been rare earths.
Beijing has since April required licenses to export these strategic materials from China, which accounts for almost two-thirds of rare earth mining production and 92 percent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.
The metals are used in a wide variety of products, including electric car batteries, and there has been criticism from industries about the way China's licenses have been issued.
China has proposed establishing a "green channel" to ease the export of rare earths to the EU, its commerce ministry said this month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
USAID cuts may cause over 14 million additional deaths by 2030, study says
PARIS: More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die because of the Trump administration's dismantling of US foreign aid, a study in the Lancet journal projected Tuesday. 'For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict,' study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, said in a statement. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT President Donald Trump's administration, since taking office in January, has made funding cuts to USAID and its aid programs worldwide in what the U.S. government says is part of its broader plan to remove wasteful spending. Human rights experts and advocates have warned against the cuts. USAID funding has had a crucial role in improving global health, primarily directed toward low and middle-income countries, particularly African nations, according to the study. BY THE NUMBERS The study estimated that over the past two decades, USAID-funded programs have prevented more than 91 million deaths globally, including 30 million deaths among children. Projections suggest that ongoing deep funding cuts - combined with the potential dismantling of the agency - could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million deaths among children younger than 5 years, the study in The Lancet said. Washington is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38% of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $61 billion in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data. KEY QUOTE "Our estimates show that, unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030," the study said. CONTEXT U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March the Trump administration canceled over 80% of all programs at USAID following a six-week review. The remaining approximately 1,000 programs, he said, would now be administered "more effectively" under the U.S. State Department and in consultation with Congress.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
World needs to rediscover the optimism of UN's founding
The world was last week on the brink of something akin to a mini-catastrophe or a major war, which could have easily slipped into a nuclear confrontation. Amid the missiles and dust, everyone seemed stunned into inaction, despite the repeated mantras of the need for calm and restraint and to let diplomacy take its course. It was evident that all international powers lacked the desire, interest or even basic human empathy to work for peace in an optimistic way. All this coincided with the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter — a collaborative dream that became reality from the ashes of the Second World War. However, we all agree that there was little to celebrate. In an increasingly contentious and fragmented world, people, nations and global actors need to dig deep to revive collaboration and multilateralism. Above all, they need to find the optimism and moral resolve to work together and build common ground as nation states, either within or outside the UN, as they have done for the past 80 years. When the UN was born in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, the overriding goal of the 50 participants who signed the charter was stated in its preamble: 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.' US President Harry Truman explained that the 'job will tax the moral strength and fiber of us all,' pointing out that the UN Charter would be useless without the leadership required to uphold it. Many have long ago condemned the UN to the margins and dismissed it as irrelevant. They say it is like an international group of employees that long ago stopped being productive; instead, they are simply concerned about their own fat salaries, pensions and short-term benefits. But this is unfair to the organization, as well as the spirit of those who lost their lives working to promote its ethos or those who have been saved and given another chance in an increasingly cruel and uncertain world. In an increasingly contentious and fragmented world, people, nations and global actors need to dig deep to revive collaboration Abdulrahman Al-Rashed Yes, its clout has been diminished, but that is due to many reasons, including the veto-wielding members of its Security Council's own involvement in wars. The UN, like other nonprofit organizations around the world, is also struggling with major funding cuts, particularly since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. It has been trying to reform itself for years, but it has failed and is now shedding jobs due to scarce funding. What is at stake and should keep every caring human being awake at night is the fact that the UN and its multilateralism is under siege. Its most powerful body, the UNSC, has been blocked from taking action to end the major wars in Ukraine and Gaza. And that is maybe why it watched from the sidelines as the latest conflict between Israel, Iran and the US flared. In today's world, adversities continue to multiply not just due to conflicts, with tens of millions of people caught up in the fighting. There is also inequality, global warming, migration and poverty, which continue to feed the system of discontent. Meanwhile, rich donors dwindle in number and aid and development budgets are axed so that governments can spend more on security, defense and wars. The UN marked its 80th anniversary with an exhibition about the San Francisco meeting of 1945. It included a rare centerpiece: the original UN Charter — ironically on loan from the US National Archives in Washington. But due to the events of the week elsewhere, hardly anyone took any notice. Since its establishment, the UN's membership has nearly quadrupled to 193. The UN system has also expanded enormously from its origins, which focused on peace and security, economic and social issues, justice and trusteeships for colonies. Today, its numerous funds, agencies and entities work on improving the lives of children and refugees, in addition to 71 peacekeeping operations and other efforts aimed at protecting people's human rights. What should keep every caring human being awake at night is the fact that the UN and its multilateralism is under siege Abdulrahman Al-Rashed It is easy to sweep the UN aside, especially amid the current superpower discord and confrontations on nearly every topic. However, it is impossible to find another forum or institution where any nation can talk directly at or against any other. At least they talk and do not rely on bombs or some dry, algorithm-fueled cryptic message to attempt conflict resolution. We ought to celebrate the UN and support it, throughout the endless talk and even the peculiar and sometimes boring details, as long as the common good and conflict resolution are of paramount importance. And it is worth underlining the words of its second secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjold, who once said that 'the United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.' The organization was clearly born from a consensus to save the world from authoritarianism. It is not surprising, therefore, to see it so marginalized by some of its most powerful members, who shrug off what they see as the constraints of the rule of law. The adversities of today call simply for the global moral resolve, optimism and strength to face them. In every crisis, like every business deal, things only advance when people find common interests anchored in fairness and justice. Above all, they must build trust and find the optimism that drives all sides toward better results. The UN has been that forum. Certainty is currently in short supply and might is increasingly making right. This is what 80 years of the UN has tried to help humanity and nations avoid. We ought to find that optimism once more, along with Truman's moral strength, to steer us toward more peace and fewer conflicts.
Al Arabiya
16 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Iran decries ‘destructive' conduct by IAEA chief
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Tehran halted cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog due to what he called the agency chief's 'destructive' behavior towards the Islamic republic, his office said Monday. 'The action taken by parliament members... is a natural response to the unjustified, unconstructive, and destructive conduct of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency,' Pezeshkian told Macron in a phone call late Sunday, according to a presidency statement.
