U.S. and EU Set to Discuss Joint Approach to Assertive China

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. and European Union officials will discuss a joint approach to an increasingly assertive China during a high-level dialog on Thursday, saying that finding common ground on key issues makes it harder for Beijing to ignore those topics. 

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and the secretary general of the European External Action Service, Stefano Sannino, will meet in Washington to co-chair the second session of the U.S.-EU China Dialogue. 

Topics of discussion will include economics and technology, human rights, security and disinformation and Taiwan, according to two senior State Department officials who briefed reporters Wednesday on condition of anonymity. The talks also will touch on potential areas of cooperation with China, including energy security and climate, the officials said. 

An important belief underlying the dialog is that the combined weight of the U.S. and European Union will be much harder for China to ignore than U.S. pressure alone, one of the officials said. 

Speaking Thursday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged “the relevant parties to abandon their cold war mentality” and instead “inject more stability and positive energies into the world.”

“Drawing lines along ideology or seeking cliques does not benefit world peace and stability,” he said. “It hurts others and hurts oneself.”

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