European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Chinese President Xi Jinping next week to discuss trade between the two superpowers. The central question is how the trade can continue, although opinions differ.

But China expert Ardi Powers dares to doubt whether the two sides will actually listen to each other. He talks about “conversation among the deaf.” “The world has changed, as Von der Leyen said before,” Bouwers says. “And especially from a European perspective because of the war in Ukraine and the Chinese side’s somewhat unconditional support for Russia.”

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And this is while you think it seems as though China is stuck in the olden days, still hoping to revive the old investment treaty – the one endlessly negotiated between China and Europe. “So these conversations will be interesting.”

unbalanced relationship

Europe correspondent Stefan de Vries expects that von der Leyen will use strong language when Xi’s visit, while the relationship between Europe and China is not entirely balanced. “China actually has the upper hand,” he says. “Certainly given the technology, the size of the country, the geographic location and the potential expansion of the military, so we look at China with trepidation.”

As an example, de Vries cites Xi’s visit to Putin, which made many European capitals nervous. Meanwhile, the Chinese president is still being phlegmatic — incredibly unbothered. He knows he’s got the longest end of the stick at the moment.

dichotomy

According to expert Bohr, a split can therefore be detected in the speech that von der Leyen made today about the visit. In the first half, Burr described it as sharp and solid, while finding the second half open. Von der Leyen also says there is “room for discussion about partnership,” while the first half is about competition and rivalry. “And she sees some islands of opportunity, so she’s trying to deliver a double message.”

Bower stresses that she did not mention the United States once, while the relationship between China and the United States deteriorated a lot. And the fact that it did not mention it at all can be interpreted by China as not wanting to deal with China in such an escalating manner.