The Europeans Leaders will meet with their Japanese and Chinese counterparts this week, with high expectations for better defense and commercial cooperation With Tokyo in strong contrast with limited hopes of discussions in Beijing.
European Commission President Ursula von der Laien, and European Council President Antonio Costa will travel to Asia this week, first meeting Japanese Prime Minister Sigeru Isiba on Wednesday (23.7.25) in Tokyo and Tokyo (24.7.25) in Beijing.
In Japan, leaders plan to sign agreements on cooperation in the defense industry and financial security, according to European officials who informed journalists before the meeting. However, there is no expectation for a joint statement from the Summit in Beijing, according to Bloomberg.
The European delegation expects no substantive agreements from the China meeting, aiming only at a “meaningful, open, immediate, good and constructive discussion,” one of the officials said. Europe hopes to make it clear what Beijing wants to do to correct unsustainable economic relations and balance the links.
“The atmosphere in China-Europe relations has become fragile before the summit,” said Cui Hongjian, a former Chinese diplomat who teaches at the University of Beijing University. “Some favorable conditions, such as Trump’s duties, could bring the two sides closer, but other adverse conditions, such as their differences in the issue of Ukraine, prevent the improvement of China-Europe relations.”
An agreement on cooperation in the field of climate change can arise, although even it remains uncertain. The links between the EU and China have worsened by the pandemic, with European complaints concerning Beijing’s commercial practices and its support for Moscow.
For Brussels, the cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies that supports the Moscow military industrial complex despite European sanctions is a particular point of dispute. The EU has imposed sanctions on two Chinese banks and five China -based companies on Friday as part of its last measures against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. This move marked the first European sanctions against Chinese banks and sparked protests from Beijing, which promised an answer that would secure and protect its own companies.
Emphasizing the frustrations for European trade, the surplus of China’s trade in the first half of this year was in record for any six -month period, according to figures released last week. The rapidly growing Chinese exports and the shrinkage of imports pushed the surplus to nearly $ 143 billion by June, the highest recorded, although the first half of the year is usually slower before the shipments increased before the festivities.
Tensions have worsened by Beijing’s decision in April to impose controls on exports of rare land magnets and related products, which shocked European automakers and other areas.
While these missions recovered last month, it remains unclear if it would satisfy Europeans, who had demanded China to correct the problem before the summit. Von der Layen had previously accused China of “arming” magnet supplies at the seventh team meeting last month.
On the contrary, the visit to Japan will announce initiatives to exploit what European officials have described as “our closest strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific region”. They said the steps would cover defense and security, industrial policy, foreign interventions and manipulation, business competitiveness, as well as the cooperation between the EU and the CptPPP countries, a free trading agreement between 12 nations in the Asia-Pacific and the United Kingdom.
Japan and the EU are planning to launch a “alliance of competitiveness” to strengthen their economic and commercial cooperation, according to officials. They are also ready to work on a large -scale satellite network to disconnect with dependence on US companies such as SpaceX, according to the Nikkei newspaper.
The summit is to take place as both Japan and the EU participate in the corresponding US duties negotiations. Leaders will exchange notes on talks at the Tokyo Summit, one official said.
Ishiba, whose government coalition suffered a historic electoral defeat on Sunday, is under pressure to reach an agreement with the US before August 1st for higher duties.
The EU and Japan also held their first “Dialogue on Security and Defense” last month. One official noted that the EU and Japan will express their common contrast to any attempt to change the status quo to the Taiwan Strait with violence or coercion, a comment addressed to China, which claims that Taiwan is its own ground.