EU doubles down on diplomacy with China

IN THE United Kingdom, there is a longstanding saying about buses – that you wait for what sometimes seems like hours for one, and then two or three come all at once.

While the UK public transport sector may seem far removed from the high politics and economics of China-European bilateral relations, there may be some parallels. Top European Union (EU) officials have in recent weeks been travelling from Brussels in significant numbers to Beijing after a hiatus of several years, in part because of the pandemic.

In the last month alone, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, and Economy and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis have all visited the Chinese capital. This builds from the trip earlier this year of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.