Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a week-long tour of the European Union on Monday, during which he will visit the headquarters in Brussels, as well as Germany and France.
Chinese ambassador visits Europe
The official reason for the trip includes participation in the next round of the China-EU high-level strategic dialogue. The parties are also expected to prepare for a summit in late July in Beijing and Anhui Province. Shortly before his trip, Wang told EU representatives in Beijing that China and the EU should strengthen mutual trust and take relations to a “new level.”
On Wednesday, Wang will hold talks with top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas, who in turn called for a “dose of realism” in relations with China. In her view, this means remembering that Beijing is one of the EU’s largest partners and that “China is fuelling Russia’s war.”
China shock
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in mid-June that the world is currently experiencing a new “China shock,” but also declared her readiness to “deepen the partnership with China.”
EU expectations from co-operation with China
The EU, like the US, is interested in establishing stable supplies of magnets using rare earth metals from China, on which its key industries, including the automotive industry, are critically dependent. China meets 98% of the EU’s demand for such magnets. Due to the lack of progress in this area, Brussels cancelled a round of economic talks with Beijing at the end of June 2025.
Earlier, in several stages starting in April 2025, China introduced additional export restrictions on these types of rare earths, without differentiating between destinations (and in April, it supplied 51% fewer such magnets than in March).
Electric vehicles issue
For China, the main issue in its relations with the EU remains the tariffs of up to 45% on electric vehicles, which have been in place since October 2024. In response, Beijing introduced temporary anti-dumping measures against European brandy.
Each side will talk primarily about the most pressing issues – for China, this is really the topic of electric vehicles, and for the EU, it is the supply of rare earths. The EU and China will agree on a conditional common denominator, and a reduction in duties on electric vehicles may well be announced soon. Undoubtedly, general issues of relations in the US-EU-China triangle will also be touched upon, and therefore Washington will be present at the current negotiations.
Considering Trump’s trade policy, the EU and China have incentives to move closer together, but this could be hampered by both von der Leyen’s rash policies and Washington’s demands on Brussels.
As there is a clear vector in the US towards involving the EU in a confrontation with China, Brussels will try to sit on two chairs. But this will be extremely difficult, especially given Beijing’s tough stance, which, however, continues to unequivocally declare its relations with the EU to be in the spirit of partnership. There is no unified position on China within this bloc. While Greece and Italy, for example, are more constructive, for France and the new German government, China is primarily a rival in the sphere of values, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz will certainly not be as much of a lobbyist for Chinese business as Olaf Scholz.
Expert opinions
Experts believe that there has recently been a definite mutual interest on the part of China and the EU in adding momentum to their economic relations. On the one hand, China is under serious pressure from the US, with which all trade agreements are still only temporary, and Washington’s pressure is clearly set to continue.
The EU is feeling similar pressure, even if the threat from the United States still seems less serious to it, according to the expert. Nevertheless, this situation creates an opportunity for co-operation between China and the EU, which could benefit from at least creating the appearance of a negotiation process to unsettle the Americans. At the same time, no real breakthroughs or serious compromises in relations between the EU and China are expected in the near future.
