Chinese FM Puts EU’s Kaja Kallas Through a “Gruelling Encounter”, Tells Her China Does Not Want Russia Defeated

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat on Wednesday that Beijing does not want to see a Russian loss in Ukraine because it fears the United States would then shift its whole focus to Beijing, according to several people familiar with the exchange.

The comment, to the EU’s Kaja Kallas, 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 was 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, two officials said.

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.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to abandon Kyiv and is seen in Europe, at times, to have taken a staunchly pro-Russian position on the conflict. On Monday, the Pentagon halted shipments of some air defence missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine, Politico reported, over fears that the US’ stockpile was running low.

The three-year conflict remains one of the biggest sources of friction between China and the bloc, which has long criticised Beijing for supplying dual-use items to Russia. Beijing has denied the charge and positioned itself as a peacemaker that considers both Moscow and Kyiv to be partners.

Nonetheless, it has never criticised Russia’s invasion and has maintained close diplomatic and economic ties with Moscow, a constant frustration to the Europeans.

The tone of Wednesday’s dialogue was said to be respectful, if tense. Nonetheless, some insiders were surprised by the harshness of Wang’s message, just three weeks out from an important leaders’ summit in China. Any appearance of a charm offensive is seen to have evaporated.

The sources said Wang told Kallas the two-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, in its 18th package of measures against Moscow, which is awaiting final approval from its 27 member states. 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 Beijing and Anhui province. The main hope for concrete deliverables is on the climate front.

Wang earlier on Wednesday met European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. EU sources said the two presidents were “on the same page” with each other and Kallas on all the major issues.

From Brussels, he travelled to Berlin for a first meeting with Germany’s new foreign minister, Johann Wadephul.

According to the German daily Handelsblatt, Chancellor Friedrich Merz was also planning to meet Wang briefly as a “protocol gesture”. Later in the week, he will meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.

China’s own version of the meeting with Kallas, meanwhile, 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 civilisation,” it continued.

Source: South China Morning Post