Handshakes and smiles at EU-China meetings belie stark differences on trade, Ukraine war

No progress on resolution of key disputes despite high-profile visits

- Jonathan Eyal

BRUSSELS - The European Union and China marked the anniversary of half a century of diplomatic relations with pomp and circumstance.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa flew to Beijing for a July 24 bilateral summit.

And they were accorded face time with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was at his most affable, describing China and the EU as da gezi, or the "big shots" of the world stage.

Yet beyond the flattery, there was no movement towards the resolution of key disputes between the two sides, which include the ballooning Chinese trade surplus with Europe and European accusations that China is siding with Russia in the Ukraine war.

Both Dr von der Leyen and President Xi described their relationship as being at a "turning point". But neither side was prepared to consider a change in direction from their well-entrenched positions.

The Chinese and Europeans had different views, even on diplomatic protocol.

Although Beijing rolled out the red carpet for the European visitors and EU leaders were taken from one meeting to the next in a fleet of shiny Hongqi luxury limousines, Chinese officials described the face-to-face meeting with President Xi as a separate event, not part of the EU-China summit.

The visiting Europeans, however, were keen to claim that their talks with Mr Xi were an integral part of the summit.

The key difference here is that the Chinese are determined to treat their dealings with the EU as talks between governments, and therefore insisted that Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the official host of the latest summit.

However, the Europeans have always sought to elevate their talks with China to the level of heads of state.

The Europeans were already rebuffed on this matter in May, when Brussels invited Mr Xi to visit the European Union's headquarters to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations.