EU-China summit

Atomium in Brussel
© Kevin Bergenhenegouwen
date April 9, 2019 15:00
city Brussels, Belgium
location Brussels, Belgium Show location
attending D.F. (Donald) Tusk i, J.C. (Jean-Claude) Juncker i, J.T. (Jyrki) Katainen i, F. (Federica) Mogherini i et al.
organisation Council of the European Union (Council) i, European Council i

Agenda highlights

The EU wants to reinforce its partnership with China

Live streaming

Live streaming

9 April 2019

  • 13:00 Arrival of Premier Li
  • 16:15 Press conference

Estimated schedule

European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will co-host the 21st EU-China summit. High Representative Federica Mogherini will also attend the summit.

At the last European Council meeting, EU leaders had a strategic discussion on the EU-China relations to prepare the summit:

"Our aim is to focus on achieving a balanced relation, which ensures fair competition and equal market access. In this context, we hope to persuade China to include industrial subsidies as a crucial element of the WTO reform."

European Council President Donald Tusk, 22/03/2019

Ahead of the summit, the Commission and the High Representative issued a joint communication stressing that neither the EU nor any of its member states can effectively achieve their aims with China without full unity.

Infographic - The EU and China are strategic trading partners

See full infographic

EU and Chinese leaders will seek to strengthen bilateral cooperation. They will discuss bilateral trade and investment relations, including the fair and non-discriminatory treatment for their economic operators.

Both sides will also discuss the future of global governance and how to tackle common challenges. The EU and China are expected to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism with the UN at its core. They are also likely to express their support to the work of G20 and the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

EU and Chinese leaders will address the issues of sustainable development and cybersecurity including, the security of 5G networks.

The summit will also be an opportunity to discuss their different initiatives to better connect Europe and Asia. Further synergies should be identified within the framework of the EU-China connectivity platform.

In addition, foreign security and human rights issues will be on the agenda including:

  • the situation in the Korean peninsula
  • Iran and the nuclear deal (JCPOA)
  • Russia and Ukraine
  • Afghanistan
  • the Venezuela crisis
  • Myanmar

Following the EU-China human rights dialogue in Brussels on 1-2 April, the summit will provide an opportunity for the EU to reiterate, at leaders' level, its commitment to human rights and the rule of law as a core part of its engagement with China.

Programme

09/04/2019

13:00

Arrival of Premier Li Keqiang

13:05

Leaders' meeting

13:55

Working lunch

15:00

Plenary session

16:15

Press conference

See also

Previous EU-China summits


1.

Council of the European Union (Council)

In the Council, government ministers from each EU country meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies. The ministers have the authority to commit their governments to the actions agreed on in the meetings.

Together with the European Parliament , the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU.

Not to be confused with:

  • European Council - quarterly summits, where EU leaders meet to set the broad direction of EU policy making

2.

European Council

The European Council brings together EU leaders to set the EU's political agenda. It represents the highest level of political cooperation between EU countries.

One of the EU's 7 official institutions, the Council takes the form of (usually quarterly) summit meetings between EU leaders, chaired by a permanent president.

What does the European Council do?

3.

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