Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas on July 2 that Beijing cannot afford a Russian loss in Ukraine because it fears the US would then shift its whole focus to Beijing.
The comment would confirm what many in Brussels believe to be Beijing’s position but jar with China’s public utterances. The foreign minstry regularly says China is “not a party” to the war. Some EU officials involved were surprised by the frankness of Wang’s remarks.
Wang is said to have rejected, however, the accusation that China was materially supporting Russia’s war effort, financially or militarily, insisting that if it’s doing so, the conflict would have ended long ago.
During a marathon four-hour debate on a wide range of geopolitical and commercial grievances, Wang was said to have given Kallas — the former Estonian prime minister who only late last year took up her role as the bloc’s de facto foreign affairs chief — several “history lessons and lectures”.
Some EU officials felt he was giving her a lesson in realpolitik, part of which focused on Beijing’s belief that Washington will soon turn its full attention eastward. One interpretation of Wang’s statement in Brussels is that while China did not ask for the war, its prolongation may suit Beijing’s strategic needs, so long as the US remains engaged in Ukraine.
The tone of the dialogue on July 2 was said to be respectful, if tense. Nonetheless, some insiders were surprised by the harshness of Wang’s message, just 3 weeks out from an important leaders’ summit in China. Any appearance of a charm offensive is seen to have evaporated.
Wang reportedly told Kallas the 2-day summit itself could be truncated — in a hint that Beijing is not happy with how the EU is positioning itself ahead of the event.
The bloc is set to blacklist two small Chinese banks for flouting its sanctions on Russia. On this point, Wang repeatedly vowed to retaliate if the lenders are ultimately listed.
It continues to take Beijing to task on trade matters, with dozens of investigations into subsidies, dumping and other market-distorting practices under way or in the works.

More recently, the sides clashed on Chinese restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and magnets, which have caused some European companies to stop manufacturing lines.
The bloc relies almost entirely on Chinese supply, without which it cannot make anything from planes and advanced weapons to cars and refrigerators.
The Europeans got no reassurances from Wang that a structural end to the crisis was in the works. Instead, he said the Ministry of Commerce’s has reduced processing time for licenses from nearly six weeks to three, and that individual companies can always raise their complaints with the government.
On rare earths, the EU feels it has been unfairly caught in the crossfire of a US-China tech war and there is some surprise that Wang was not more forthcoming with a solution. One source described his position on the matter as “dismissive”.
The view in Brussels is that the gruelling encounter — interrupted by a dinner of stuffed chicken, sweet potato mousse and cheesecake — does not bode well for the summit on July 24 and 25 in China.
Earlier on the same day Wang met European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The two presidents were “on the same page” with each other and Kallas on all the major issues.
China’s own version of Wang’s meeting with Kallas makes little reference to the many bones of contention.
“There is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and the EU, and they have broad common interests,” read an account published by the foreign ministry.
“Europe is currently facing various challenges, but none of them came from China in the past, present and future. The two sides should respect each other, learn from each other, develop and progress together, and make new contributions to human civilization.”
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