Readout of the meeting between President Charles Michel and China’s Prime Minister LI Qiang

European Council President Charles Michel met with China’s Prime Minister LI Qiang in the margins of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India. Both sides exchanged views on a wide  range of  issues and confirmed their interest in maintaining stable and constructive relations.

President Michel confirmed the shared interest to hold the EU – China Summit by the end of the year. Therefore he stressed the importance of holding high-level sectoral dialogues ahead of the summit, such as the 10th EU-China High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue, Strategic Dialogue on foreign policy, Digital Dialogue. High-level Dialogues have an important role to play in delivering meaningful outcomes for the Summit.

The President stressed that in particular the high-level political dialogue is useful and necessary to foster mutual understanding and address the various challenges in the context of our bilateral relations, but also in the context of more global issues.  The European Union is a political project founded on values and principles that we hold dear, such as democracy, human rights and human dignity. And it is these values that guide our international action.

President Michel also referred to the recent European Council discussion and conclusions on EU – China relations. The EU and China need to work together to tackle global challenges like fight against climate change, health pandemics and challenges of the world economy, especially the debt relief.

EU and China are important trade and economic partners and we will continue ensuring that this relationship is balanced, reciprocal and mutually beneficial. EU will continue addressing critical vulnerabilities and diversifying where necessary and appropriate without undermining crucial economic interests.

Both sides discussed the global consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, especially the food and energy security. President Michel welcomed China’s condemnation of the threat to use nuclear weapons and noted that China, as the UNSC member, has a special responsibility to secure global peace and stability, as well as the respect for international law.

President Michel confirmed that the One China Policy is a fundamental principle of the EU – China relationship. At the same time, the EU naturally has economic ties with Taiwan.