Opening Speech by European Union Ambassador to China Mr Jorge Toledo at the 2nd EU-China Conference: navigating beyond the inflection point
Distinguished guests,
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends, dear Netizens following the conference on-line!
It is my pleasure to welcome you today and to officially inaugurate the 2nd EU-China Conference: “Navigating beyond the inflection point”, hosted by the European Union Delegation to China.
The title of today’s conference is not accidental. It captures a moment of uncertainty. But it is also a moment of choice. An inflection point is not only a warning. It is also a chance to change direction, to correct course, and to ask more honestly where we are going.
Last year, in July 2025, the European Union and China leaders met in Beijing for the 25th EU-China Summit. That summit took place in a symbolic year: 50 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the EU and China. Fifty years that had seen an exponential growth in our trade and economic exchanges. So much so that our trade had grown from 2 billion euros a year to over wo billion euros a day las year. But this explosive growth has created imbalances that, as President Von der Leyen put it during the summit, have reached an “inflection point”
At the Summit, the leaders’ discussions reflected the complexity of the relationship: trade imbalances, industrial overcapacity, or “involution “as they call it in China, market access, critical supply chains, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and global security. But there was also a clear positive signal: the EU and China agreed a joint statement on climate change. As Chinese premier Li Qiang said to President Von der Leyen in 2023 “green is the colour of our cooperation. We are working very well together in the fight against climate change and in the protection of biodiversity and the environment.
Today, EU-China relation is complex. We, in the European Union describe it as one of partnership, but also a one of competition, and systemic rivalry. At the same time, we are determined to engage with China, and to use dialogue to enhance our partnership, rebalance our competition and reduce or even eliminate the systemic rivalry. But we will do so while protecting our interests, reducing strategic vulnerabilities, and defending he principles on which the European project is built.
Exactly 4 days ago, we celebrated the Europe Day, which, once again, gave us an opportunity to remind ourselves and to remind our partners around the world that Europe has been built on promises of freedom, equality and democracy. Today, in a world of rising conflicts and economic pressures, we must defend these values, at home and abroad.
We must defend Europe, which means standing up for peace, stability and international law — together with our partners. At the same time, we are ready to build partnerships across the globe, which help us upholding our values and address shared challenges.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The phrase in the title of our conference “beyond the inflection point” invites us to look ahead — not only to the next summit, the next joint statement, or the next trade measure, but to the months and years in which the international order itself will be tested.
From the global point of view, we are entering a period of economic insecurity, technological competition, climate urgency, geopolitical conflict. In such a world, EU-China relations cannot be treated as a separate file. They are part of a much larger question: how can major powers coexist in a world that needs cooperation but is increasingly shaped by mistrust?
For Europe, this means speaking with unity and confidence. Engagement with China should not be naïve, but neither should it be pessimistic. Strategic autonomy does not mean strategic isolation. De-risking does not mean disengagement.
For China, the months and years ahead will bring a choice as well. The quality of the relationship with Europe will depend not only on high-level meetings, but on whether European concerns are taken seriously: on market access, subsidies, industrial capacity, critical raw materials, security, human rights, and China’s position on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
By organising this conference and inviting distinguished experts from the EU and China together, we are creating such an instrument. I am particularly glad to see some leading European and Chinese experts engaged in the EU-China Think Tank Exchange Dialogue, which is a programme fully funded by the EU’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments.
Today’s conference is a space to test assumptions, to listen carefully, and to ask difficult questions and to search for constructive answers. We should not expect easy consensus today. But as we begin, I invite all of us to reflect on our imminent road ahead.
If the 25th EU-China Summit reminded us of anything, it is that dialogue remains necessary, but dialogue alone is not enough.
The task now is to make dialogue consequential – to connect words with action, to encourage more balance, uphold commitments and embrace responsibilities.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We meet at a time when the path ahead is uncertain. But uncertainty is not the same as paralysis. Therefore, today, I invite you to think harder and to speak more candidly.
Let this conference help us do exactly that: to look beyond the inflection point, to understand the choices before us, and to contribute – modestly but seriously – to a more stable, balanced, and forward-looking EU-China relationship.
Thank you, and I wish you all a productive and thought-provoking conference.