{"id":218742,"date":"2025-06-27T13:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T13:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/218742\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T13:49:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T13:49:12","slug":"chinas-top-diplomat-to-visit-europe-for-talks-with-eu-germany-france-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/218742\/","title":{"rendered":"China’s top diplomat to visit Europe for talks with EU, Germany, France next week"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mary Yang.<\/strong><\/p>\n

China\u2019s top diplomat Wang Yi will head to Europe next week for talks with counterparts from the European Union, Germany and France, Beijing said on Friday as it seeks to shore up fraught ties with the bloc.<\/p>\n

\"ChineseChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. File photo: Wikicommons.<\/p>\n

Beijing has sought to improve relations with Europe as a counterweight to superpower rival United States, though frictions remain over trade and China\u2019s close ties with Russia despite its war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

China and the European Union will also host a summit next month marking 50 years since Beijing and Brussels established diplomatic ties.<\/p>\n

Wang\u2019s trip will take him to Brussels, France and Germany and last from next Monday to Sunday, Beijing said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is undergoing an accelerated evolution of a century-old change, with unilateralism, protectionism and bullying behaviour becoming rampant,\u201d foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said \u2014 a thinly-veiled swipe against the United States under President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s top diplomat will meet with EU counterpart Kaja Kallas at the bloc\u2019s headquarters in Brussels for \u201chigh-level strategic dialogue\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

In Germany he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on diplomacy and security \u2014 his first visit since Berlin\u2019s new conservative-led government took power in May.<\/p>\n

\"USUS President Donald Trump delivers remarks on a partnership deal with US Steel and Nippon Steel at the US Steel Corporation-Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on May 30, 2025. Photo: The White House, via Flickr.<\/p>\n

China looks forward to \u201cstrengthening strategic communication, enhancing pragmatic cooperation, and promoting new developments of the China-Germany comprehensive strategic partnership,\u201d Guo said.<\/p>\n

Ties between Berlin and Beijing, he added, were \u201cinjecting certainty, stability, and positive energy into a turbulent world\u201d.<\/p>\n

In France, Wang will meet minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, who visited China in March.<\/p>\n

\u201cForeign Minister Wang Yi will exchange views with the French side on the international situation, China-France ties and China-Europe relations,\u201d Guo said.<\/p>\n

And in Brussels Wang will also hold talks with Belgium\u2019s Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, Beijing said.<\/p>\n

Trade spat<\/p>\n

Ties between Europe and China have strained in recent years as the bloc seeks to get tougher on what it says are unfair economic practices by Beijing and the yawning trade imbalance between them.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe European Union flag. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n

Last week, the European Union banned Chinese firms from government medical device purchases worth more than five million euros ($5.8 million) in retaliation for limits Beijing places on access to its own market.<\/p>\n

The latest salvo in trade tensions between the 27-nation bloc and China covered a wide range of healthcare supplies, from surgical masks to X-ray machines, that represent a market worth 150 billion euros ($176 billion) in the EU.<\/p>\n

In response, China accused the EU of \u201cdouble standards\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another tricky point has been rare earths.<\/p>\n

Beijing has since April required licences to export these strategic materials from China, which accounts for more than 60 percent of rare earth mining production and 92 percent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.<\/p>\n

The metals are used in a wide variety of products, including electric car batteries, and there has been criticism from industries about the way China\u2019s licences have been issued.<\/p>\n

China has proposed establishing a \u201cgreen channel\u201d to ease the export of rare earths to the European Union, its commerce ministry said this month.<\/p>\n

Dateline:<\/p>\n

Beijing,\u00a0China<\/p>\n

Type of Story: News Service<\/p>\n

Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to high journalistic standards.<\/p>\n

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