Director of the Department of Global Governance and International Organizations, China Institute of International Studies
Seen from broader perspective, the current strategic and economic tensions between China and the EU are the result of the global power shift and the transformation of the global order, characterized by the rising tensions of geopolitical rivals, worldwide protectionism and competition on new economic fronts, which to a large extent weakens the strategic trust between China and the EU.
At the same time, it is also increasingly evident that, in order to handle the global challenges, it is necessary to see the common responsibilities and interests of the EU and China to promote a smooth and orderly transformation based on the UN-centered multilateral mechanism.
First, climate change should definitely be a priority of the joint agenda. The US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal leaves huge holes in global efforts to fight climate change. Both China and the EU should jointly take the leadership, not only for the global public good, but also for their mutual interests. A second priority is to jointly defend the multilateral trade system. US unilateral tariff wars are disrupting the world trade system which will have long-term, systemic impacts on the world economy. Neither China nor the EU could afford the cost of bowing to pressure and bullying. Last but not least, the Gaza humanitarian crisis, or the wider topic of how China and EU could join hands in promoting the Middle East peace process.
Starting from that, China and the EU must first and foremost reach a constructive strategic consensus by focusing on a positive agenda instead of finger-pointing and setting preconditions for pragmatic cooperation. To put it another way, there should be two parallel mindsets here: on one side, there should be pragmatic cooperation and advances in possible areas of cooperation, while on the other, there are channels to handle the tensions and disputes.