The return of Donald Trump was supposed to bring Europe and China together. Yet, EU leaders will touch down in Beijing late on Wednesday for a summit with the lowest expectations in recent memory.
Advertisement
The murmurs of a détente that grew in the first quarter have given way to fresh tensions, with the problems between the two sides multiplying and widening to a surprising degree before Thursday’s showdown in the Chinese capital.
In recent months, trade friction and China’s support for Russia have resurfaced as flashpoints, dashing any prospect for a feel-good summit.
In a sign of its frustration at how poorly things are going, China cancelled the summit’s second day in Hefei, an industrial city in Anhui province where European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has family links.
The only deliverable is a joint statement on climate issues, negotiations for which were fraught, but finally concluded overnight on Tuesday, with the text sent to Brussels for the approval of EU ambassadors on Wednesday. Otherwise, the pickings are slim.
Advertisement
“The European deliverable is a substantive, open, direct, good, constructive conversation between the two of us on every aspect of this relationship,” said one official, reflecting just how low the bar has fallen.