“They came to celebrate fifty years of relations. But they left through the side door with their spirits in pieces. There was no toast. There were warnings.”
This is not a good time to step into Beijing without knowing where you stand. And the European Union forgot that. It arrived in the Chinese capital with the smile of anniversaries and the frown of trade imbalances. They came to talk about balance, but China had already moved the pieces. Europe is just watching the board.
The July 24 EU–China summit ended early. And it wasn’t because of rain or scheduling. It was because Xi Jinping does not tolerate trade etiquette lessons from those who once colonized half the planet without paying a cent. He said it without raising his voice. Europe must not build walls. Must not break supply chains. Must not isolate itself. Because if it isolates itself, it sinks. And Brussels’ problems don’t come from China. They come from within.
Xi didn’t come to negotiate. He came to warn. And he did so with surgical precision. He condemned protectionism, technical barriers, subsidies disguised as green policy. And he made it clear: if Europe insists on imposing tariffs on Chinese products like electric vehicles or critical minerals, it will be Europe shooting itself in the foot. The $360 billion trade deficit won’t be solved with sanctions. It will be solved with industry. And that, long ago, left the continent.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked for real solutions. But she didn’t bring any. Not even unity. Germany wants to sell cars to China. France wants to protect its steel. Italy just wants to survive. And Spain doesn’t even know what it wants. The summit lasted less than expected, but its echo still resonates.
Beijing won’t move an inch. Because it already stands at the center. Of energy, of logistics, of global production. And because China’s strategy is not short-term. They don’t want to win a meeting. They want to win history.
Europe came with statistics. China responded with geopolitics. Europe brought demands. China answered with millennia of patience and a single warning: if they keep pressing, no summit will save the relationship. And then yes, fifty years will be frozen in the photos. But history will keep being written in Mandarin.