Von der Leyen says 'strategic stability' needed

She calls on European Union to 'not forget' that China is its most important trading partner

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said there is a strong need for strategic stability in relations between the European Union and China, and the rivalry element of the relationship can be constructive.

She made the remark while addressing the EU Ambassadors Conference in Brussels on Monday.

"Our relationship with China is one of the most intricate and important anywhere in the world. And how we manage it will be a determining factor for our future economic prosperity and national security," she said. "In these turbulent times, there is a strong need for strategic stability in how we deal with China. We must get China right."

Von der Leyen said there is "an explicit element of rivalry in our relationship", adding that China's goal is a systemic change of the international order, with China at its center.

"We have seen it with China's positions in multilateral bodies, which show its determination to promote an alternative vision of the world order," she said.

Lai Suetyi, an associate professor at the Center for European Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said that "it is unfair for von der Leyen to criticize us like we are power-thirsty and a destroyer".

"When the EU is seeing China working in multilateral bodies, isn't it an evidence itself that China is trying to make the current world order work?"

Lai added that China is "helping in necessary reforms, namely reforming the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund".

Von der Leyen's speech on Monday focused on three topics: Ukraine, the Middle East and China.

She said the rivalry between China and the EU can be "constructive, not hostile".

"And this is why we need functioning channels of communication and high-level diplomacy. This is what I have called de-risking through diplomacy. And this is why we have invested in intensive dialogue with Beijing — from four high-level dialogues now to the upcoming EU-China Summit that we will have in a couple of weeks," she said.

Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel are expected to visit China next month for the summit, but the exact date is yet to be finalized, according to the European Commission.

European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell visited China in the past two months, respectively conducting a high-level digital dialogue, an economic and trade dialogue and a strategic dialogue.

In addition, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton is expected to visit Beijing from Wednesday through Friday and Hong Kong on Saturday, the United States-based media outlet Politico reported.

Confidence in prospects

Von der Leyen, citing the fight against climate change, said, "Cooperation with China on global issues is possible and is happening.

"There is room to define together common rules and solutions to challenges we all share," she added.

Von der Leyen also said that "geopolitics and geoeconomics cannot be seen as separate anymore", and that "by now China is our most important trading partner in terms of goods — we should not forget that".

However, "while we do not want to decouple from China, we do need to de-risk parts of our relationship", she added.

Fu Cong, head of the Chinese mission to the EU, said while speaking at the CERIS-ULB Diplomatic School of Brussels on Oct 24 that he is confident about the prospects of China-EU relations.

Fu also said that Beijing disagrees with the EU's definition in 2019 of China as a partner, competitor and systemic rival.

"We believe we are more partners than rivals," he said. "Of course, economic competition is normal, yet attempts to decouple, even in the name of de-risking, serve no one's interests.

"Instead, we stand to benefit from each other's development. In our view, we can cooperate and compete, but there is no reason to be rivals," Fu added.