Western media writes that after the recent annual EU-China summit, Brussels' stance on Beijing has not changed for the better. Frederica Mogherini's department published forecast before this summit, which accused China of intellectual property theft, market closeness for European goods and investment, and government subsidies for industrial enterprises. China was described in the report as a "systemic rival", but there was no US crucial idea of deterring China. Moreover, Beijing was defined as a strategic partner.
In expert's opinion, such a dual position emerged during the EU-China summit. The final communiqué contained a lot of vague formulations. Apparently, China has made promises for the Europeans to open its market for EU goods and investments. The parties have also stated that they would adhere to a common position on the intellectual property protection and abandon the forced technology transfer. As for China's refusal to subsidize industrial enterprises, no decisions have yet been reached.
"Some provisions of the communiqué are clearly directed against the United States. In particular, both parties are ready to support the WTO and the current structure of international trade. This is directed against protectionism of the White House. Europeans are interested a lot in the huge Chinese market. There are more than 300 million middle-class people now, and by 2025 there will be 600 million people. Europeans are ready to quarrel even with the Americans for the Chinese market," RISS expert underscored.