The 15th China-EU Summit in Bruxelles

October, 2012

About to slacken his post to his successor, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended the fifteenth China-EU Summit. In Brussels, the Beijing leaders met with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. The discussions centered on the economic situation of the two powers.

It was held in Brussels the fifteenth China-EU Summit, the summit between the leaders of the Chinese and European economies. The meeting was the last in office for Premier Wen Jiabao; it was an opportunity to discuss many issues of economic and political relevance. In particular, with regard to relations between the two powers, the summit has set itself the opportunity to focus on strengthening China-EU strategic partnership, in the light of the scenario which has emerged as a result of the international economic crisis. The strengthening of relations between the two actors is, in fact, a key factor in the economic prospects of both worlds, since Europe is the premier destination of Chinese exports and China is in second place, after the United States, as trading partner for Brussels. As a small "spot" in relations between the two powers, the investigation opened by the European Union on imports of solar panels from China, as a result of the criticism for unfair competition raised by some European producers, and the increase of duties on imports of such products. From Brussels reassuring, however, that these events do not affect the goodness of the China-EU relations.
“The meeting will reflect the appreciation of Europe about the role of Wen in the construction of bilateral relations and lay the foundation for the maintenance of good relations with the new generation of leaders.”

European Community

On the sidelines of the Summit – it is written on a press release issued by the European Community - the two sides will sign a series of agreements, including one on environmental sustainability program and planning, for which Brussels will commit € 25 million, and a joint statement by strengthening dialogue and technological cooperation space between the two parties and the European Space Agency (ESA) (AgiChina24.com). Among other topics of interest: climate change, developments on the Syrian crisis, the Middle East, Africa and North Korea.