President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, travels to Beijing for EU-China Summit and to Tokyo to sign landmark EU-Japan trade and strategic partnership agreements.
Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker will, alongside the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, represent the European Union at the 20th EU-China Summit and the 25th EU-Japan Summit on Monday 16 July in Beijing and Tuesday 17 July in Tokyo respectively.
The two Summits will allow EU Leaders, who will be accompanied throughout by Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and in Beijing also by Commissioners Cecilia Malmström and Violeta Bulc, to assess with their counterpart’s developments in the respective bilateral relationships as well as regional and global challenges.
What will the focus of the discussions be?
In China, discussions are expected to focus on:
- The expansion of the EU-China strategic relationship
- Trade and investment
- Their commitment to combating climate change and investing in clean energy, and
- Foreign and security issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the joint commitment to preserving the Iran nuclear deal.
In the margins of the EU-China Summit, President Juncker will also deliver the keynote speech at the EU-China business roundtable. While in Beijing, Commissioner Bulc will chair the EU-China Connectivity Platform, and Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, who will also be in China, will speak at the EU-China High Level Forum on sustainable urban development and, in the context of the EU’s International Urban Cooperation programme, witness the signature of a joint declaration between Chinese and European cities.
What will be discussed between EU and Japan?
In Japan, the Leaders will sign two landmark agreements:
- The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan is the biggest ever negotiated by the European Union as it will create an open trade zone covering over 600 million people and nearly a third of global GDP, bringing vast benefits to both EU consumers and EU exporters.
- The Strategic Partnership Agreement will provide an overarching framework for the EU and Japan to reinforce and enhance their relationship, building on existing cooperation both bilaterally and in multilateral fora, for example the United Nations and the G7.
Discussions at the EU-Japan Summit are also expected to cover investment protection, and regional and global challenges.
