The European Union’s foreign policy chief aims to make his long-delayed visit to China in the fall, ahead of a planned summit between the two sides.
(Bloomberg) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief aims to make his long-delayed visit to China in the fall, ahead of a planned summit between the two sides.
“I have all assurances that the meeting will be before our next summit,” Josep Borrell said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “The purpose of the visit is to hold the strategic dialog during the preparation steps for the summit.”
Borrell had to cancel a trip to Beijing this spring to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang after coming down with Covid. And last week, he had been scheduled to meet Qin in southeast Asia, but that too was canceled after Borrell was informed his counterpart fell ill.
China’s foreign minister hasn’t been seen in public for more than three weeks and the lack of information about his health is fueling concerns over China’s transparency.
The next summit between the EU and China hasn’t been formally scheduled yet, but Borrell said he hopes it will happen before the end of the year.
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The EU recently unveiled a new economic security strategy, which seeks oversight of critical technology exports and may curb outbound investments in the name of national security. The proposal is part of a growing push to strengthen security tools as countries such as China and Russia increasingly use trade and the control of critical supply lines to advance political and even military goals.
–With assistance from Maria Tadeo.
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