Click here to download the full report

Date: May 25, 2024

Author: WEI Fulei, Director, Centre for Finance, Trade and Industrial Development, China Development Institute

China and the EU, as two of the world’s major economies, together comprise one-third of the global economic output. China is now the EU’s second-largest trading partner, as well as the largest source of its imports and the third-largest destination of its exports. In recent years, the EU has accelerated the ‘de-risking’ process amid geopolitical crises, and prioritised security in the cooperation with China, a shift from the past orientation towards economic interests and technical cooperation. A raft of new acts and policies adopted by the EU, in particular the Critical Raw Materials Act, has challenged China-EU relations. Nevertheless, the two economies are still highly complementary in terms of industrial structure, technological strength, and market demand. As reiterated by Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister of China, China and the EU are comprehensive strategic partners with common interests far outweighing differences, and cooperation is the keynote of China-EU relations.1 In the future, China and Europe should strengthen dialogue, enhance strategic mutual trust, bolster consensus on cooperation and development, and collaborate to facilitate trade cooperation under the new and turbulent circumstances.