Brussels (AFP)

Advance in the negotiations on investments and trade despite growing tensions, in particular on Hong Kong or Huawei: this is the whole issue of the videoconference which brings together the heads of the EU, the German Chancellor and the Chinese President on Monday.

It was to be a highlight of the six months of the German EU presidency: a summit in Leipzig (east) with the leaders of the 27 EU countries and their Chinese counterpart.

But the coronavirus pandemic has passed through there and the meeting, now virtual, is being held in a reduced format: the head of the European Council (which represents the 27 of the EU) Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen , German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

On the menu of discussions, the thorny Sino-European agreement on investments, the conclusion of which by the end of the year is deemed "possible" by Beijing.

Europeans want their companies in China to benefit from the same conditions as those offered to Chinese firms in the EU.

"We want fair competition rules, we demand reciprocity" in terms of openness, underlines a European official on condition of anonymity.

The task promises to be delicate: "We hope to agree on Monday on a roadmap to resolve our differences", but "even if the political objective is to accelerate the negotiations and to conclude by the end of 2020, we will accept a deal only if it's worth it, "he insists.

Beijing has already cooled the mood somewhat by banning on Saturday all imports of German pork into China - Germany's largest market outside the EU - due to a case of swine fever in Brandenburg (east), a blow for Mrs Merkel.

On the other hand, the EU announced on Monday that it had signed, after the green light of the 27, the agreement signed at the end of 2019 with China on their protected geographical indications (PGI), aimed at defending 100 European appellations (including a quarter of France), ranging from from French champagne to Greek feta, and as many Chinese specialties.

- Balancing act -

Another issue on the table, the climate: while the EU sets itself a carbon neutrality objective for 2050, the Europeans want to push Beijing to strengthen its ambitions by aiming for carbon neutrality in 2060, a peak in CO2 emissions from 2025 and stopping the construction of coal-fired power stations.

This meeting comes as relations continue to deteriorate between China and the United States against the backdrop of a trade war.

Caught between these two fires, "the EU must define its own interests, must be strong and independent, both from China and from the United States", declared the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire. , in an interview with the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

In any case, Brussels is playing the balancing act, considering China both as an essential partner and as a "strategic rival".

"The EU is adamant about its own interests and values, but is keen to cooperate with China. It is essential that the EU does not become a battleground of these tensions, that it is a stabilizing element," insists the European official who requested anonymity.

If the United States puts pressure on the Europeans to exclude the Chinese giant Huawei from their future 5G networks, the 27 remain divided on the issue.

Brussels should however express Monday to Xi its concerns about Hong Kong, where the application of a new security law constitutes, according to Europeans, an attack on the freedoms of this semi-autonomous territory.

The 27 have already decided to limit exports of equipment usable for surveillance and law enforcement in Hong Kong.

The question of Taiwan - an island governed independently but over which Beijing claims sovereignty - should also prevail, as well as that of the Uyghurs.

The fate of this Muslim minority in western China, massively interned in camps according to researchers, NGOs and diplomats, worries Europeans and has already led to targeted American sanctions.

© 2020 AFP