Can climate change cooperation curb chill in China-EU ties?

THE conventional wisdom about the chill in China-European Union ties, which dates back till at least the pandemic, is that it may now be irreversible. However, not all of the bilateral relationship is in the “deep freeze”.

For at least around a decade, Beijing and Brussels have had very fruitful bilateral conversations on global warming issues. So much so in fact that the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) was very influential in Beijing’s design of its own carbon markets.

European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans, who heads up green policy for the EU, highlighted this warmth in 2021 when it referred to the “good partnership” in this area. In recent days, during his latest visit to Beijing for the EU-China High-level Environment and Climate Dialogue, it is therefore perhaps unsurprising that Timmermans said he is “convinced that China is willing to go in the right direction” in tackling climate change, despite growing concerns to the contrary.