The president of the European Council Charles Michel will visit Beijing on December 1 to meet with Xi Jinping, the president of China. Following a strategic discussion on the European Union’s relations with China at the European Council in October, a visit to Beijing was made. The visit is a good time for engagement between the EU and China given the current geopolitical and economic context. The leaders of the EU and China will talk about issues of common interest and global concerns.
After German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s solo visit to China earlier this month, it will also be an opportunity to present a united face for the 27-nation bloc. During that visit, Scholz expressed his concern for human rights and encouraged China to use its influence to persuade Russia. As the EU tries to hold its ground against a more forceful and authoritarian China, Michel will attempt to build on that trip. The visit also comes in the wake of a U.N. report that suggested that China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity, as well as high tensions over Taiwan.
