Bring politics together: China moves closer to the EU to counter the US

China intends to resolve its economic differences with the European Union as soon as possible amid Donald Trump's tariff threats. Beijing is ready to lift sanctions against MEPs in order to revive the investment agreement. The parties are also discussing the abolition of European tariffs on imports of Chinese electric cars. In addition, Beijing is increasing bilateral cooperation with a number of countries in the bloc. Against this background, Trump agreed to reduce duties of 145% on goods from China. According to experts, China is making some progress, but we should not expect a rapid rapprochement with the EU on an anti-American basis. Which states of the region are betting on in Beijing — in the Izvestia article.

EU and China: What are they cooperating on and why are they imposing sanctions?

China has embarked on an accelerated rapprochement with the European Union amid the aggressive trade policy of the United States. In the near future, Beijing is ready to lift sanctions against EP deputies in order to revive the investment agreement with the union, the Financial Times reports. The Comprehensive Investment Agreement (SCA) was supposed to provide EU countries with expanded access to the Chinese market, but in May 2021, the European Parliament decided to freeze it due to Beijing's announcement of counter-sanctions. Earlier, Brussels imposed restrictions against Chinese citizens who are allegedly involved in violating the rights of Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Against this background, the investment agreement had to be forgotten.

Another step that inspires some optimism: China and the EU have begun negotiations on the abolition of European tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from the republic. Recall that in October 2024, the European Commission imposed duties of up to 35.3% in addition to the current 10% levy on all car imports. Recently, these tariffs have become a stumbling block in relations between Beijing and Brussels.

After the tariffs were imposed, Chinese delegations at various levels met with EU representatives to reach a compromise. And apparently, a common "enemy" in the form of the United States has moved the process off the ground.

On April 24, Beijing handed over two large pandas to Austria, where they will live for the next 10 years. Do not underestimate this gesture — the so-called panda diplomacy occupies an important place in China's foreign policy, which aims to strengthen relations with other countries. China calls big pandas its national treasure and considers them its property. Beijing "gives away" the symbol of its country for only ten years, actually renting out pandas. After the deadline, they are returned to their homeland and, if agreed, they are sent again, which underlines the high level of cooperation between the countries. Of course, the transfer of animals has been prepared for a long time. Since 2003, Austria has been participating in the panda conservation program together with the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), and in June 2024, the parties extended the partnership for 10 years. But the moment was not chosen by chance — it is possible that such a broad gesture by China and its favor to Austria sets the stage for further bilateral cooperation, including against the background of Trump's duties.

We should probably expect a strengthening of cooperation between China and Spain. On April 11, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Xi for talks. The Spanish leader openly criticized the US trade policy and announced the need for deeper cooperation with China in the field of trade and investment.

China's rapprochement with the EU is apparently not part of the US plans. Earlier, Finance Minister Scott Bessent warned Brussels against establishing relations with China, comparing this step to "cutting the throat," Bloomberg reported. Despite Donald Trump's statement that he is not afraid of a rapprochement between the EU and China, indirect threats from the United States suggest that the "thaw" in relations between Beijing and Brussels is contrary to Washington's interests. Trump has already announced that he will reduce duties on goods from China. According to the WSJ, the US administration may reduce them from the current 145% to 50-65%.

Washington's list gives Beijing new opportunities

China is most interested in developing relations with EU countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain and Ireland, Alexander Korolev, a political scientist, Candidate of political Sciences, Deputy director of the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia. They remain key trading partners of both China and the United States, which at the same time makes them the most vulnerable.

— Tariffs will hit their export opportunities the hardest. They have an objective need to redirect various products. First of all, electrical, computing machines, equipment for the production of semiconductors and electronic integrated circuits — everything that China is interested in," the political scientist notes.

The opportunities for Beijing lie in the fact that the White House put both Washington's allies and rivals on the same "firing list," which gave an impetus to their rapprochement against Trump himself, said Nikolai Marchenko, director of the Eurasian Youth Projects NGO.

By the way, an EU delegation led by the heads of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, plan to visit Beijing in July for the EU–China summit, several media outlets report. The decision to hold the meeting in the Chinese capital is due to the fact that the Chinese leader is "reluctant to travel to Brussels."

— It is possible that the creation of an anti-tariff alliance may become one of the key issues to be discussed during the meeting of EU leaders with Xi Jinping this summer. Beijing can provide significant support to its traditional European ally in Hungary and personally to Prime Minister Viktor Orban," Nikolai Marchenko emphasized.

At the same time, we should not expect a rapid rapprochement between China and the EU on an anti-American basis, Yulia Melnikova, head of the INF program area, told Izvestia.

— The European position towards China has a strong inertia related to the risk reduction policy formulated back in 2023. It involves the development of protective legislation within the EU, aimed, among other things, at unifying the positions of member states towards China, reducing access of Chinese companies to European markets, and controlling Chinese investments in Europe. Nevertheless, the trends towards reconsidering the attitude towards China and the discussion about its use as a balancing act, an alternative option in the context of increased tension in relations with the United States, are obvious," Yulia Melnikova noted.

China focuses on the European direction primarily on those countries that express an open interest in cooperation, such as Greece and Hungary, and on relatively weak states with a high need for external investment such as Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria, the expert emphasizes. Of the major countries, Germany remains the driving force: Volkswagen alone produces more than 40% of products for the Chinese market. However, problems may arise with Germany. Its future chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is calling on the European Commission to take "urgent action." As a result of the trade conflict with the United States, Germany may be flooded with cheap imports from China, he warns.

At the same time, China's cooperation with the EU is important regardless of its relations with the United States. The European market, being more open than the Chinese one, attracts significant investments from companies from the republic — they are ready to invest in all available areas. Yulia Melnikova stressed that even a slight shift in the EU's position towards China against the background of trade contradictions with Washington is becoming an opportunity for Beijing, which it will certainly try to use.