Liu He is the Vice Premier of China. He said that China is ready to announce what sectors the country can open for European investments at the summit. Xi Jinping, Chinese President, Li Kequiang, Chinese Premier, and top E.U. officials said that they will attend the summit.
Chinese state media already promoted rhetoric that the European Union will be on China’s side, according to the officials. This is putting the E.U. in a delicate position. The annual summits in 2016 and 2017 ended without making a statement. That was because of disagreements over trade and the South China Sea.
A European diplomat said that China wants the E.U. to fight Washington with them, but that the E.U. is not going to side with China.
Experts say that China and the E.U. are taking different negotiating positions with the U.S. China is aggressively threatening to raise tariffs. The E.U., however, is waiting to see how the global trade situation shakes out. Then, they will take action if they feel they need to.
