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BRUSSELS / BERLIN (Reuters) – China is putting pressure on the European Union to a strong seal statement against President Donald Trump's trade policies at a summit of the European Union.
In meetings in Brussels, Berlin and Beijing, senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He and the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councilor Wang Yi, have proposed an alliance between the two economic powers and the Chinese market in a gesture of goodwill.
One proposal for China and the European Union to launch joint action against the United States at the World Trade Organization.
Aimed at the European Union, the world's largest trading bloc, has rejected the idea of allying with Beijing against Washington, DC, and the United States.
Instead, the summit is expected to produce a modest communique, which affirms the commitment of both sides to the multilateral trading system and promises to set up a working group on modernizing the WTO, EU officials said.
Vice Premier Liu He has said privately that China is ready to be set for the first time, it is possible to meet the expectations of the President Xi Jinping, China Premier Li Keqiang and top EU Officials.
Chinese state media has promoted the message that the European Union is on China's side, officials said, putting the block in a delicate position. The past two summits, in 2016 and 2017, South China Sea and trade.
"China wants the European Union to stand against Beijing, to take sides," said one European diplomat. "
China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Beijing's summit aims.
In China, China's official Xinhua news agency said China and Europe "should resist trade protectionism hand in hand".
"China and European countries are natural partners," it said. "They firmly believe that free trade is a powerful engine for global economic growth."
CHINA'S MOMENT?
Despite Trump's tariffs on European metals exports and threats to the EU's automobile industry, Brussels shares.
"We agree with almost all the complaints against the US, it's just we do not agree with how the United States is handling it," another diplomat said.
Still, China's stance is struck by Washington's deep economic and security ties with European nations. It shows the depth of Chinese concern about a trade war with Washington, as Trump is set to impose tariffs on trillions of dollars worth of Chinese imports on July 6.
It also underscores China's new boldness in trying to sixteen leadership amid divisions the United States and its European, Canadian and Japanese alliances, climate change and foreign policy.
"Trump has split the West, and China is seeking to capitalize on that. It was never comfortable with the West being one bloc, "said a European official involved in EU-China diplomacy.
"China now feels it can be split into the European Union in so many areas, on trade, on human rights," the official said.
Another official description of the dispute between Trump and Western allies at the Group of Seven summit.
European envoys say they already feel a greater urgency from China in 2017 to find out about Trump's "America First" policies.
NO "SYSTEMIC CHANGE"
A report by the New York-based Rhodium Group, a research consultancy, published in the United States, while many of the big Chinese takeovers in the block would not have been possible for companies in China.
China has promised to open up. But EU officials expect any move to be more symbolic than substantive.
They say China's decision in May to lower tariffs on imported cars will make little difference because imports make up such a small part of the market. China carmakers will be fleeting.
"Whenever the platform is in the way," said Beijing-based European executive said.
However, China is offering to look at the top of the world. Beijing is concerned that it is set to face tighter EU controls, and regulators are also blocking Chinese takeover attempts in the United States.
The European Union is seeking to pass the law.
"We do not know if this is a good idea yet," a third EU diplomat said. "It's unlikely to be a systemic change."
Additional reports by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Giles Elgood
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