French President Emmanuel Macron invited German chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to join a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next Tuesday (26 March), in a bid to forge a united front in European efforts to rebalance relations with Beijing. The announcement came as EU-China relations are expected to dominate talks during the second day of an EU summit on Friday (22 March). EU leaders were expected to discuss China on Thursday evening, but the summit ended up being hijacked by talks over Britain’s departure from the European Union. Tuesday’s meeting will come on top of numerous encounters planned over the coming weeks between European and Chinese decision-makers that will culminate with an EU-China summit on 9 April. The EU will give Chinese leaders a comprehensive list of demands next month to address the growing “frustration” among Europeans, and to improve bilateral cooperation as it reaches a critical junction, various senior EU officials explained on Wednesday (20 March). On Friday, the EU-28 are expected to discuss a long list of demands that will be presented to China at the April summit. In addition, the European Council will also discuss a series of measures to better protect the EU against unfair trade and economic practices, which are primarily targeted at China. This includes a new International Procurement Instrument to ensure reciprocity in access to overseas procurement markets, and in particular the Chinese one. France has been one of the most vocal defenders of such an instrument in the… [Read full story]
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