Talks lay groundwork for a summit between EU and Chinese leaders in Beijing on July 24 and 25.The European Union’s foreign policy chief has urged China to end restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and warned that Chinese firms’ support for Russia’s war in Ukraine posed a serious threat to European security.
The statement from Kaja Kallas came on Wednesday after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Brussels.
The EU is seeking to improve its relations with China amid United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war, which has rocked major trading powers.
But instead of improvements, a trade spat has only deepened between Brussels and Beijing over alleged unfair practices by China. The 27-nation bloc is also railing against the flow of vital tech to Russia’s military through China.
On Wednesday in her meeting with Wang, Kallas “called on China to put an end to its distortive practices, including its restrictions on rare earths exports, which pose significant risks to European companies and endanger the reliability of global supply chains”, a statement from her office said.
On trade, Kallas urged “concrete solutions to rebalance the economic relationship, level the playing field and improve reciprocity in market access”.
She also “highlighted the serious threat Chinese companies’ support for Russia’s illegal war poses to European security”.
China says it does not provide military support to Russia for the war in Ukraine. But European officials say Chinese companies provide many of the vital components for Russian drones and other weapons used in Ukraine. Advertisement
Kallas called on China “to immediately cease all mat …
