Continuity marks EU-China relations

The new European Union leadership is unlikely to change the current trend in EU-China relations, which are based on a pragmatic mix of cooperation and competition. At the same time, the leaders will have to give priority to a number of pressing domestic concerns.

Ursula von der Leyen, the German defense minister nominated to head the European Commission, has been a senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet for over a decade, and has visited China on numerous occasions. Last year, she delivered a speech at the People's Liberation Army military academy, setting out her views on the importance of taking a holistic view of security policy. She also gave an interview, saying China was "clever" in pursuing its interests toward the EU arguing that the EU had to ensure it was united in dealing with China, Russia and the United States.

Charles Michel, the outgoing Belgian prime minister who takes over as president of the European Council, has considerable experience in finding compromises between the competing political parties in his own country. This political skill was evident in another Belgian, Herman van Rompuy, who was the first president of the European Council. Michel has hosted Premier Li Keqiang no less than three times in the past four years as he has sought to develop closer ties between Belgium and China.