FT: Chinese President Xi declines EU-China anniversary summit invitation
London, March 16 (Hibya) - According to the Financial Times (FT), Chinese President Xi Jinping has declined an invitation to a summit in Brussels marking the 50th anniversary of EU-China diplomatic relations. Instead, Premier Li Qiang will meet with European officials.
Tensions between Brussels and Beijing have escalated following the war in Ukraine and the EU's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
According to the FT, Xi Jinping rejected the invitation to the summit celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between the EU and China.
The report, citing two anonymous sources, stated that Beijing informed EU officials that Premier Li Qiang would meet with the Presidents of the European Council and Commission instead of Xi.
The newspaper noted that Chinese premiers typically attend summits in Brussels, while summits in Beijing are hosted by the president. However, the EU had hoped Xi would attend given the significance of the anniversary.
The FT reported that tensions between Brussels and Beijing have increased since 2022 when the EU accused China of supporting the Kremlin after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last year, the EU also imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports.
An EU official told the newspaper, "Informal discussions continue to determine the date and level of representation for this year’s EU-China summit," adding that China’s foreign ministry had not commented on the issue.
Albania News Agency
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