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BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday (Dec 7) warned top EU officials that China and Europe should not view each other as rivals or engage in confrontation due to their different political systems, in the first in-person China-EU summit in four years.
During the meeting to discuss issues ranging from trade imbalances to Ukraine, Xi also said China is willing to make the EU a key economic and trade partner, and to cooperate on science and technology, including artificial intelligence.
He also urged the EU in the meeting held at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to "eliminate all kinds of interference" in the bilateral relationship, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will also meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang on their one-day visit.
It will be their last chance to get face time with top Chinese officials before the European Parliament elections kick off next year, triggering changes in the bloc's leadership.
Both sides have sought to play down expectations ahead of the summit, with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warning Beijing-based diplomats from EU member states on Monday that Europe should choose "peace and stability" over a "new Cold War".
A European official told journalists in Brussels earlier this week that "there's not a single outstanding deliverable that will be crowning the summit," adding that there will not be a joint statement.
In another blow to EU-China relations, member state Italy officially informed China "in recent days" that it is leaving the Belt and Road Initiative championed by Xi, Italian government sources told Reuters Wednesday.
A string of EU Commissioners have visited Beijing since China lifted pandemic border restrictions this year, including the bloc's trade and climate chiefs, but little progress has been made on core irritants in the relationship. Most recently, Borrell's chief of staff and senior EU diplomat Enrique Mora visited in November.
The European Union wants Beijing to use its influence on Russia to stop the war, and a main focus of the trip will be urging Xi to stop Chinese private companies exporting European-made dual-use items to Russia for its war efforts. Brussels initially left these Chinese firms off its latest Russia sanctions package unveiled last month, European officials said.
The bloc is also concerned about what it considers "imbalanced" economic relations, saying its near 400 billion euro (S$578 billion) trade deficit with China reflects restrictions on EU businesses.
China has previously pushed back against an EU anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and the EU's "de-risking" policy to reduce its reliance on Chinese imports, particularly of critical raw materials.
Last month, foreign minister Wang told visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna the biggest risk is "the uncertainty brought by broad politicisation", and that "the dependency most in need of reduction is protectionism".
During Colonna's visit, China also offered visa-free entry to citizens of the EU's five largest economies in a bid to boost post-pandemic tourism and improve China's image in the West after ties deteriorated during the Covid pandemic.
EU officials say the two sides could cooperate more on action to combat climate change and to promote biodiversity.
习近平警告欧盟高级官员不要对抗
北京——周四（12月7日），中国国家主席习近平在四年来首次面对面的中欧峰会上警告欧盟高级官员，中欧不应因政治制度不同而视对方为竞争对手或进行对抗。 年。
在讨论从贸易失衡到乌克兰等问题的会议上，习近平还表示，中国愿意使欧盟成为重要的经贸伙伴，并在包括人工智能在内的科技领域开展合作。
据中央电视台报道，他还在北京钓鱼台国宾馆举行的会议上敦促欧盟“消除对双边关系的各种干扰”。
欧盟委员会主席乌苏拉·冯德莱恩、欧洲理事会主席查尔斯·米歇尔和欧盟外交政策负责人何塞普·博雷尔也将在为期一天的访问中会见中国国务院总理李强。
这将是他们在明年欧洲议会选举开始之前与中国高级官员会面的最后机会，从而引发欧盟领导层的变化。
双方都试图在峰会前淡化预期，中国外交部长王毅周一警告欧盟成员国驻北京外交官，欧洲应该选择“和平与稳定”而不是“新冷战”。
本周早些时候，一名欧洲官员在布鲁塞尔对记者表示，“峰会不会有任何一项突出的成果”，并补充说不会发表联合声明。
意大利政府消息人士周三告诉路透社，欧盟成员国意大利“最近几天”正式通知中国，它将退出习近平倡导的“一带一路”倡议，这是对中欧关系的又一打击。
自中国今年取消大流行边境限制以来，多位欧盟委员访问了北京，其中包括欧盟贸易和气候负责人，但在解决两国关系的核心问题上几乎没有取得任何进展。 最近，博雷尔的幕僚长兼欧盟高级外交官恩里克·莫拉 (Enrique Mora) 于 11 月来访。
欧盟希望北京利用其对俄罗斯的影响力来制止战争，此行的一个主要焦点将是敦促习近平阻止中国私营公司向俄罗斯出口欧洲制造的军民两用物品，以支持其战争。 欧洲官员表示，布鲁塞尔最初将这些中国企业排除在上个月公布的最新俄罗斯制裁计划之外。
欧盟还对其认为的“不平衡”经济关系感到担忧，称其对中国近 4000 亿欧元（5780 亿新元）的贸易逆差反映了对欧盟企业的限制。
中国此前曾抵制欧盟对中国电动汽车的反补贴调查，以及欧盟旨在减少对中国进口（尤其是关键原材料）依赖的“去风险”政策。
上个月，王毅外长对来访的法国外长凯瑟琳·科隆纳表示，最大的风险是“广泛政治化带来的不确定性”，“最需要减少的依赖是保护主义”。
在科隆纳访问期间，中国还向欧盟五个最大经济体的公民提供免签证入境，以促进疫情后的旅游业，并在新冠疫情期间关系恶化后改善中国在西方的形象。
欧盟官员表示，双方可以在应对气候变化和促进生物多样性的行动上进行更多合作。
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