A planned visit to Hefei, where a business roundtable was scheduled, was cancelled by the Chinese side. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa were expected to take part in the Hefei stop.
In advance of the summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had visited Europe. However, the visit resulted in few concrete outcomes and did not appear to shift positions ahead of the main meeting.
During the summit, both sides found limited common ground beyond climate and sustainable development. Official readouts reflected diverging perspectives, and no breakthrough was reached in core economic or geopolitical matters.
One of the main points of discussion was China’s deepening trade relationship with Russia. From 2020 to 2023, bilateral trade more than doubled. Since 2018, China has run a trade deficit with Russia — a trend that EU representatives see as potentially supporting Russia’s economy during its war in Ukraine. China has rejected such interpretations, stating that its cooperation with Russia is not directed at any third party.
The EU also raised long-standing concerns over its trade imbalance with China. Chinese exports to the EU are more than double the volume of imports. Von der Leyen emphasized structural issues such as industrial overcapacity and limited access to the Chinese market for European firms.
Following the summit, von der Leyen stated that the Chinese side had agreed to examine the overcapacity issue and promote domestic consumption. She described her meeting with President Xi Jinping as “excellent.” However, the joint statement issued after the talks was limited to climate and sustainability. No concrete announcements were made regarding trade.
