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Opening remarks by President António Costa at the meeting with President of China Xi Jinping

European Council / Council of the European Union

European Council
Statements and remarks
24 July 2025 05:30

Mr. President, it is my pleasure to be in Beijing, together with President von der Leyen, for this EU-China summit, and to meet with you once again, now in my new capacity.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations. Over the past five decades, we have become key trading partners, contributing to the development and prosperity of our citizens and our economies. We have developed a rich and deep cooperation and our economies and societies are deeply interlinked.

The European Union remains committed to deepening our bilateral partnership, making concrete progress in addressing concerns with respect, goodwill and honesty and working together to uphold multilateralism. We need concrete progress on issues related to trade and economy. And we both want our relationship to be balanced, reciprocal and mutually beneficial.

Today, the world is going through a period of global uncertainty marked by economic volatility, geopolitical tensions, as well as challenges facing the entire humankind. The European Union and China are major economies and actors in the world. We share the responsibility to uphold the rules-based order and tackle global challenges.

We have different political and economic systems. We do not always see eye to eye. Yet, we have a shared interest in pursuing constructive and stable relations, anchored in the respect for the rules-based international order, balanced engagement and reciprocity.

We wish to continue to engage with China to tackle global challenges and take more ambitious action on climate change and biodiversity, health and pandemic preparedness, food security, disaster reduction, debt relief, and humanitarian assistance.

Our cooperation on climate change is an important example, and I look forward, as a result of today's summit, to a strong joint political message ahead of COP 30 in Brazil.

We must also uphold the fundamental values enshrined in the UN Charter, which will celebrate the 80th anniversary, values such as sovereignty, territorial integrity and the respect for internationally recognised borders. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, we call on China to use its influence on Russia to respect the UN Charter and to bring an end to its war of aggression against Ukraine.

I am grateful for this opportunity to meaningfully address these and other issues with you. And my wish is that in 50 years from now, the European Union and China will be able to celebrate bilateral relations which have continued to bring prosperity to our peoples, develop solutions to shared global challenges, and serve the cause of global peace. Such relations will benefit our people and contribute to stability in the world.

I am looking forward to a fruitful and open discussion with you. Thank you.