The last time they held a summit, the pandemic prevented a real meeting, and differing interests prevented real results.
(Josep Borrell, EU High Representative, April 2022)
"It was not exactly a dialogue, maybe a dialogue of the deaf."
Since then, the European Union has been racing to reduce dependence on China, seeking new sources for the rare earth metals needed to power clean technology, investigating Chinese electric vehicle subsidies to try to keep Europe competitive, and mulling export controls on critical technologies.
Plans all summed up in Brussels' new favourite buzzword:
(Various EU officials)
“Derisking." "Derisking." "Derisking."
And yet, EU-China trade reached record levels last year.
(Weinian Hu, EU-China trade researcher, Free University Brussels)
"We say diversification, but the question is where? The EU already had a big rare earth strategy but in the end, 10 years later, they depend more on China for rare earth imports."
In 2020, the two sides announced an investment agreement which Brussels hoped would help even out trade imbalances, but it’s frozen after European disquiet about Chinese treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang led to an exchange of sanctions and halted the deal.
Beijing denies wrongdoing, but campaigners in Europe insist the bloc should do more.
(Claudio Francavilla, Human Rights Watch)
"When you're having a summit with a government responsible for crimes against humanity, you want to address them, you want to announce that business as usual is not a possibility. You want to announce that you are committed to accountability."
Then there’s the biggest political bone of contention: Russia’s war in Ukraine.
China says it wants peace, but has basically stuck by its close ally Moscow.
And while the EU once hoped Beijing would pressure Russia to end its invasion, now ...
(Grzegorz Stec, EU-China expert, Merics)
"I think [the] EU has very soberly acknowledged that the perspective of China being a constructive mediator is not really on the cards. Our objective as the European side should be about trying to limit the extent to which China is going to support Russia and its invasion."
The EU says it does want to work more with China on climate change and global public health issues, and China’s messaging is much more upbeat.
(Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson)
"China and the EU are partners, not rivals, and our common interests far exceed differences. China hopes that the summit will play an important role in building on past achievements."
But with so many differences, it looks like the only real deliverable of this dialogue is the fact that it's happening at all.