Xi Jinping snubs EU-China anniversary summit

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

64% : Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares told the Financial Times last month that the EU should also see potential opportunities.
60% : The premier usually attends the summit in Brussels, and Xi hosts it in Beijing, but the EU believes the importance of this meeting -- to commemorate half a century of diplomatic relations -- means that China's president should attend, the people said.
57% : China's President Xi Jinping has declined an initial invitation to visit Brussels for a summit to mark the 50th anniversary of ties, as the EU questions the sincerity of recent Chinese overtures.
52% : Beijing told EU officials that China's second-ranked leader Premier Li Qiang would meet the presidents of the European Council and Commission in Brussels for the summit rather than Xi, two people familiar with the matter said.
51% : Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, said in February that while the EU would keep "de-risking" by protecting its industry, "we can find agreements that could even expand our trade and investment ties".
46% : Known as a "wolf warrior" diplomat for his aggressive diplomacy, Lu caused an uproar in Europe last year when he questioned whether Crimea was part of Ukraine and the sovereignty of former Soviet republics such as EU members Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
40% : Tensions between Brussels and Beijing have grown since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the EU accusing China of backing the Kremlin.
40% : EU officials say China, which last year had a €304.5bn trade deficit with the bloc, is not doing enough to rebalance trade by reducing subsidies for its industries and lowering trade barriers for foreign companies doing business in the world's second-largest economy.
40% : On Friday the EU opened an anti-dumping investigation against Chinese exports of adipic acid, used to produce nylon and many other products.
37% : His appointment to manage China's diplomatic relationship with Europe was seen by some commentators as a hardening of Beijing's stance, but at the same time, another EU diplomat said, "there is a Chinese charm offensive under way".
15% : Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium have forced the EU to respond, even as industry groups warn of the damage it will cause.

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