European leaders have been coming to Beijing for several months, starting with Olaf Scholz’s contested visit last November. Since then, Xi Jinping has welcomed Charles Michel and Pedro Sanchez before receiving Emmanuel Macron and Ursula Von der Leyen on 5 and 6 April. The President of the European Commission said in a recent speech that Chinese leaders want “a systemic change in the international order, with China at its centre”.

As China’s diplomatic agenda thickens, what does the future hold for the EU-China relationship, two systemic rivals who are also partners? The war in Ukraine will be an unavoidable topic of discussion given China’s very important and ambiguous role in the resolution of the conflict. Human rights and economic issues will undoubtedly also be discussed in the context of trade tensions, particularly over the supply of strategic materials.

To address all these issues, we will welcome Sylvie Bermann, member of the board of the Jacques Delors Institute and former French ambassador to London, Moscow and Beijing from 2011 to 2014.