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Statement by President von der Leyen ahead of the trilateral meeting with President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and French President Macron

European Commission

Statement
6 April 2023
Beijing

Dear President Xi,

I would like to start by thanking you for hosting us here in Beijing. This is my second visit to Beijing after 2018. Our visit comes one day after the Qingming Festival which I know is an important day for the people of China to honour and remember the memory of your ancestors. And I am happy to be here to pay respect to this country's great history and culture.

Our meeting today is also an important opportunity for a frank and constructive dialogue. The European Union and China today have extensive and complex relations. How we manage these relations will be a determining factor for our future economic prosperity. This is why I do not see decoupling from China as a viable or desirable strategy. But equally, I do see a number of risks that Europe needs to address. So in this light - and in the current geopolitical environment -, it is more important than ever that we talk to each other and keep lines of communication open.

We are major trading partners. The European Union is China's largest export market, while China is our third largest. And while we need to address some critical imbalances in our economic relationship, China and the European Union must also cooperate closely on the most pressing global challenges: climate change, nuclear threats, global health, global financial stability - and others. Our common future depends on it.

As major economies and actors on the global stage, both China and the European Union have a responsibility to uphold - and also to improve - the rules-based international order based on the United Nations Charter. In the face of Russia's war against Ukraine, we want a just peace to be restored. And for this, we need Russia to end its invasion and withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamentals of the UN Charter that we all fully support.

By coming here and meeting you in person today, President Xi, I am looking forward to discuss, together with President Macron, these issues and opportunities and how best to manage the challenges that we face.

Thank you.