Xi, EU Officials Seek to Ease Tensions --- During a summit, Beijing and Brussels agree trade should be more balanced

"Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Europe's top officials sought to ease tensions over trade and economic disputes at their first in-person summit in Beijing on Thursday.

The EU's relations with China have grown tenser in recent months over the bloc's trade deficit with China, which doubled to $400 billion in the past two years.

Both sides agreed "that trade should be balanced between the two of us," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a news briefing, blaming the trade imbalance on a lack of market access for foreign companies, the preferential treatment for Chinese businesses and Chinese production overcapacity that undercuts European companies.

The EU is a "key partner for economic and trade cooperation, a preferred partner for scientific and technological cooperation, and a trustworthy partner for industrial and supply-chain cooperation," said Xi, according to the official Chinese readout of the meeting. He also said the EU and China shouldn't view each other as rivals or engage in confrontation.

Beijing and Brussels have continued to hold high-level dialogues, while exchanges between China and the U.S. on several fronts have been virtually suspended over much of the past year.

European Council President Charles Michel said he expects Beijing to take concrete measures to improve market access and investment environment for foreign companies, without specifying what they would be.

The EU's executive body earlier this year announced an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric-vehicle production, a probe that could lead to tariffs. Beijing has pushed back against what it views as protectionism by the EU, while imposing export controls on critical minerals needed for EV batteries.

The bloc is trying to reduce its dependence on China for critical raw materials as part of its "derisking" strategy. While von der Leyen insisted that derisking doesn't mean a decoupling, Beijing has been worried that Brussel's approach eventually would become more expansive.

Von der Leyen and Michel also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who said China opposes the "broad politicization and securitization" of economic and trade issues. "We hope that the EU will be prudent when introducing restrictive economic and trade policies," he said.

Michel said he insisted that China shouldn't supply military tools to Russia, and called on Beijing to help prevent Moscow from circumventing sanctions. The official Chinese readout of Xi's meeting with Europe's top officials didn't mention the conflict in Ukraine.

Beijing also has recently made goodwill gestures toward Brussels as it seeks to dissuade EU policy makers from fully aligning with Washington's economic and security agenda.

In September, Beijing proposed to waive data-export security assessments for the vast bulk of business and personal activity involving sending Chinese data abroad -- a move European businesses had been calling for. Last month, Beijing announced 15-day visa-free travel for citizens from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain -- its five biggest trading partners in the EU." [1]

1. World News: Xi, EU Officials Seek to Ease Tensions --- During a summit, Beijing and Brussels agree trade should be more balanced. Sha Hua.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 08 Dec 2023: A.8.