The 16th Political Directors’ Dialogue between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China was held in Beijing on 27 November.
The discussion built upon the 12th Strategic Dialogue that took place in Beijing on 13 October and that was co-chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President Josep Borrell and the Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi.
The EU and China agreed on the value of the consultations in the face of key foreign policy challenges and the worrying deteriorating geopolitical situation. They discussed bilateral relations in the run up to the EU-China Summit as well as a number of international and regional issues including Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Korean peninsula, Afghanistan and Myanmar, the Middle East and the need for stability in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
The EU recalled fundamental and specific concerns about human rights in China.
The EU reiterated the negative global impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on China to play a constructive role, including by re-engaging in Ukraine’s Peace Formula process.
They both agreed on the value of regular exchanges on geographical and thematic policy issues going forward.
The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Enrique Mora and China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.