Opening Remarks by Director-General Li Jian at the 2nd Conference on EU-China Relations: navigating beyond the inflection point

Opening Remarks by Director-General Li Jian at the 2nd Conference on EU-China Relations: navigating beyond the inflection point

Delivered by Director-General Li Jian, Dept. of European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, on the morning of 12 May 2026 at the 2nd Conference on EU-China Relations.

The text is the transcript of the English interpretation by MFA interpreter.

Your Excellency Ambassador Jorge Toledo, Managing Director Kurzweil,

Distinguished Envoys,

Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to participate in a second consecutive year in the Conference on EU-China Relations, held by the EU Delegation to China. Today, we have a full room of guests, this shows the importance we attach to China-EU relations and to the future of China-EU relations. This is very relevant today.

Over the past year, the international situation has become more turbulent, geopolitical conflicts are flaring up in many places, there are new and old crises, the world economy has faced multiple shocks, unilateralism and protectionism are rampant, and the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak is reemerging. The world is at an inflection point where transformations unseen in a century are accelerating. Whether the future is defined by peace or conflict, development or recession, win-win or zero-sum games, with rules or without order, is up to our generation to make choices that can withstand the test of the times and to answer the question of the times that is in front of us.

The changes of the world, of the times and of history are also affecting China-EU relations, which are at a critical crossroads. The world is watching which way to go. Will China and the EU be partners or rivals? Will we choose cooperation or confrontation? Will we be open to each other or turn to counter restrictions? Will we complement each other or decouple from each other? To seek each other's absolute security or seek common security? These requires our careful thinking and a conscious choice.

Currently, there is a force in Europe, a voice that tries to push China-EU relations away the track of long-term cooperation, even to full competition, confrontation and even antagonism. Some people in Europe have been repeating that China has a problem of overcapacity and that China gains a competitive edge through subsidies, and they ask to close the European market to China or even to impose tariffs. Some believe that the decrease of the EU's competitiveness is because of the shocks from Chinese industries, they ask that "if Europe catches a cold, China takes the medicine". Others view relations with China through geopolitical rivalry, major country competition and security perspective, thinking everything can be weaponised or instrumentalised, asking to de-risk from China or even precise decoupling. Some think that the Chinese economy is facing many difficulties, whereas the EU has many leverages and resources, and the EU can afford to be more hard-line. Some think China is turning to "revisionism" in multilateral platforms and is "reinventing the wheel", and they are putting strong resistance to the global initiatives and public goods provided by China, they oppose everything that relates to China, they don't even mention "mutually beneficial", "win-win cooperation", "a people-centred approach", "community with a shared future for humanity", and so on. Some are misunderstandings, some are extremely dangerous and wrong, and some are looking outward for the cause of internal problems and are failing to adapt to change.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

China always believes that the EU and China are important poles in a multipolar world; we are two major forces protecting world peace, we are two markets for common development, and two civilisations for humanity progress. In total, China and the EU account for one-third of the world's economy, one-fourth of trade, and almost one-fourth of population. Our industrial chains and supply chains are deeply integrated, and our history and cultures are intertwined. We have every reason to build a good relationship, and not a single reason to build a bad one. China-EU relations don't only bear on the prosperity of the Eurasian continent, but also on the stability of the world. As President Xi Jinping said, a healthy and stable China-EU relationship not only helps each other to succeed but also lights up the world. The more fluid the world situation is, and the more prominent challenges are, the global significance of EU-China relations is more apparent. As long as our two sides join hands, we can overcome the difficulties; there will not be bloc confrontation, the world will not be divided. There will be peace and development. This is the value of China-EU relations, and this is also our common responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

China-EU relations have undergone a fruitful 50 years; whether we can have another 50 years of peaceful cooperation, the key is in our generation.

-- We have to respect each other, instead of having confrontation and antagonism. China and Europe are the birthplaces of Eastern and Western civilisations; millennia of history have led to different cultures, societies, systems and different paths-these are the choices from our people. But differences are not the reason for us to become rivals; differences are not the reason for confrontation. China fully respects the choices of the European people; we always support the integration of Europe and support a unified and strengthened Europe; we support a stable and prosperous Europe to play a bigger role in the international stage. As President Xi Jinping said to European leaders, China is confident in Europe, and we believe Europe can be a trustworthy partner for China. We hope that the EU can step outside the misunderstanding zone that perceives only a part of the whole, and view China's development and internal and external policies in a comprehensive, objective and positive light, respect the choices of the people, respect the core interests and major concerns of China, commit to the One-China Principle and the basic norms of international relations including non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, and to narrow differences and expand consensus with China on equality and mutual respect. China believes, as long as we walk towards each other, stick to the positioning of partnership, and stick committed to mutual trust, respect, sincerity and honour our promises, the growth of China-EU relations will definitely break from the temporary mist, and usher in mutually beneficial cooperation.

-- We need to open cooperation and not isolate from each other. History and facts have proven that protectionism will not raise one's competitiveness; rather it would lead to "hothouse flowers" that cannot survive the winds and rains of the world economic development. Decoupling will not lead a fortress that can defend of all risks; rather it will only make one outdated. China hopes that the EU can be an important partner for Chinese modernisation, share the opportunities from China's super-size market and institutional opening-up. China is not the source of the problems Europe is facing, rather China is an indispensable solution and resource to solve these problems. Our two sides need to lengthen, rather than shortening, needs of cooperation, we have to open to each other, expand market resources, support investment and create a good atmosphere, and promote China-EU trade and investment to achieve upward balance. The doors of the Chinese market will keep opening to Europe's companies and will only be wider. China welcomes European friends to come to the "gym" of the Chinese market to exercise more, to increase competitiveness, innovation capacity and stability of industrial supply chains through open cooperation and complementarity.

-- We support consultation and dialogue, rather than pressuring and containing each other. The Chinese philosophy is that everything can be discussed and everything can be solved through discussion; is that we stand in each other's shoes, make mutual concessions, and treat each other with the same respect and generosity one receives. We have an enormous trade amount, it is natural to have differences, but it is important that we uphold mutual respect and take a pragmatic attitude. We should accommodate each other's legitimate concerns through consultation and reach solutions that both can accept, rather than unilaterally raise demands, hand over a list of requests, abuse trade remedies or unilateral legislation. Recently, the EV has reached a soft landing, and it has been welcomed by a lot of parties, it shows that consultation is workable. We need to provide institutional guidance and good expectations for China-EU trade and economic cooperation, and provide stability and certainty for trade, investment and companies. We are ready to reach a package of solutions or sign agreements in specialised areas; we should open to each other. We have always been calling to sign a public procurement bilateral agreement. We hope to have a positive response from Europe.

-- Also, we need to uphold equity and justice, rather than the law of the jungle. Both parties have played very good role in safeguarding international system with UN at its core, international order based on international law, and also an international system with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. We need to build a more just and equitable global governance system. To practise multilateralism, major countries need to take the lead. We have to provide certainty, oppose double standards, and safeguard equity and justice, preventing the world from returning to the "law of the jungle". Peace and development are the goals of the world. No matter how complicated the situation is, both China and the EU should uphold the cause of peace and development, they should be achieved in a balanced manner. China and the EU should promote the international community to reiterate commitment to development agendas and to inject new inputs into the 2030 Agenda. We appreciate that this conference has set different panels to have specialised discussions on these subtopics. Faced with these emergent global challenges, no country can deal with them alone. China and the EU should jointly deal with climate change, biodiversity, global public health cooperation, AI and so on. China has proposed a Global Governance Initiative and Global Development Initiative, and we welcome the EU to actively participate.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

"Gold is easy to get, but a real partner is priceless". China-EU partnership originated from the political wisdom that transcended the Cold War estrangements. Now the baton is in our hands, we should make the right choices that do not fail history, the times and our people, to jointly safeguard and grow China-EU relations, so that China-EU relations can transcend differences and inflection points, and achieve stable progress along the right track. Everyone here today knows about, thinks about and contributed to the growth of China-EU relations. I hope that you can all tap into your expertise and share insights, promote valuable suggestions for the growth of China-EU relations, provide solutions for managing differences, and make progress for the sound development of China-EU relations.

I wish this conference a full success!

Thank you!