Libération: The China-EU Summit Faces Hurdles, Trade Disputes Continue
Libération reported on July 5 that the China-EU summit marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, originally scheduled to be held in Beijing on July 24, will be shortened by one day due to disputes over rare earths, electric vehicles, and the Ukraine war. Prior to this, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with EU foreign representative Kaja Kallas and other officials during his visit to Europe from June 30 to July 5, but failed to resolve the differences. Data shows that although China lifted sanctions against five European parliamentarians in April and announced on July 4 a trade retaliation against French brandy with an exemption mechanism, the EU still banned Chinese companies from participating in public tenders for medical equipment starting June 20 as a countermeasure. EU officials commented that the trade friction between the two sides continues to escalate, and China's "buying only domestic" policy has harmed the interests of European companies such as Siemens. Experts warned that this deadlock may weaken the symbolic significance of the summit and affect bilateral economic cooperation.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836801703374218/
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