China Seeks Closer EU Ties Amid U.S.-EU Strain

China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that “healthy and stable” China-EU relations are needed now more than ever, after a push by the United States to initiate Ukraine peace talks with Russia without Europe threatened to rock transatlantic ties.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of Europe over censorship of free speech and failing to control immigration at the Munich Security Conference on Friday did little to soothe ties with EU leaders in attendance.

In contrast, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi used his address to say that all stakeholders in the Russia-Ukraine war should participate in any peace talks, including the European Union.

“China with the European side… will inject new vitality into China-EU relations to provide more certainty and stability in a turbulent world,” Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesperson, said in response to a question on the significance of China’s ties with Europe as transatlantic relations face uncertainty after U.S. President Donald Trump took office last month.

“China will serve as a stabilising factor in the multipolar system and will firmly act as a constructive force in a changing world,” Guo said.

Trump’s sudden move towards wanting to broker a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine blindsided European allies and gave China – who has also offered to facilitate peace talks – an ‘in’ with the European Union.

Wang’s speech represented a volte-face for China’s ties with the European Union, with the world’s second- and-third largest economies having spent most of 2024 exchanging barbs over allegations of overcapacity, illegal subsidies and dumping in each other’s markets.

However, China’s close ties with Russia will likely rein in any dramatic improvement in ties with Europe.

In Wang’s meeting with Kaja Kallas in Munich, the EU’s foreign policy chief said China’s export of dual use goods had helped fuel the Ukraine war, a charge that Beijing has denied.

“Europe has nowhere else to go, as Europe is not at the table,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, senior fellow at Bruegel, an influential EU affairs think thank.

“The tone from (EU head Ursula) Von der Leyen has softened. I think it’s more about Ukraine at this juncture, as trade cases are still being opened… but China is not retaliating as they are still on a charm offensive,” she added.

(With inputs from Reuters)