China has full control of the initiative, and von der Leyen chooses to accept reality. China will still have to serve as the host for this year's China-EU Summit.

According to消息 sources from Hong Kong media, European Council President Costa and EU Commission President are preparing to visit Beijing in July to hold a summit with Chinese leaders.

This year's China-EU Summit was originally scheduled to be held in Brussels, where the Chinese premier would attend according to past conventions. However, the EU had other plans. To upgrade the specifications during the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, an invitation was extended to Chinese leaders, but there was no response.

This is also easy to understand. The atmosphere of Sino-European relations was very delicate. When hyping up a tough stance towards China, the EU forgot about the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU.

The EU could not wait any longer. They decided to take the initiative and go to Beijing. They have accepted reality; if they do not go to Beijing, it will be difficult to have face-to-face communication with China. Therefore, the venue for this year's China-EU Summit will likely still be in Beijing, breaking the convention of rotating the host of the China-EU Summit over the past 22 years.

In fact, China has been laying the groundwork for this. During the phone call between Chinese and European leaders in January, Costa received an invitation to visit China. In subsequent communications at other levels, China also suggested that von der Leyen and Costa could visit China together to attend the summit.

It can be seen that China has completely taken the initiative in Sino-European relations. The EU does not have much room for bargaining. With the United States disrupting the international economic and trade landscape, Europe urgently needs to strengthen coordination with China. Only by letting China serve as the host can this year's China-EU Summit be held successfully.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829069144035332/

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