Although the 25th EU-China summit offered little by way of substance or style, both sides clearly realise the relationship is too big to fail
There was no joint EU-China summit communique, a standard diplomatic practice to show that a summit concluded successfully. Mired in tensions and seemingly irreconcilable differences, EU-China relations have entered a midlife crisis.
To be fair, even during better days, relations were never particularly cosy. Rather, it was a relationship built upon necessity: despite ideological differences, choosing each other was a geopolitical and strategic choice – a necessary evil – to safeguard multilateralism and multipolarity.
The 25th EU-China summit nonetheless served more as a face-saving event for China and a damage control mechanism for the EU. Despite the EU’s acknowledgement of “the importance it continues to attach” to its relationship with China and “its commitment to deepen engagement”, the summit was akin to a couples therapy session. EU leaders vented a list of grievances and expectations to China without proposing concrete solutions.
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