Weekly
=== NEWSLETTER Nº 25===
29 June 2026
This edition brings you recent important news, high-level diplomacy, key developments in China, and updates on China-EU relations. Enjoy reading!
Important News
'China Opportunity 2.0' offers growth potential for global businesses, says Premier Li Qiang
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a special address at the opening plenary of the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in northeastern China's coastal city of Dalian on June 24, 2026. / Xinhua
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a special address at the opening plenary of the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in northeastern China's coastal city of Dalian on Wednesday.
The forum, held under the theme "Innovating at Scale" from June 23 to 25, has brought together over 1,700 participants from over 90 countries and regions to discuss topics including the next phase of China's economic trajectory and how to translate technological advances into real economic benefits.
In his address, Li said the Chinese economy has demonstrated stability, innovation, vitality and integration with the rest of the world at the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period.
The Chinese economy has maintained "strong resilience and positive momentum" as the new five-year plan gets underway, he noted, adding that its stability has provided much-needed certainty and serves as an important "safe harbor" in an increasingly uncertain world.
Li also highlighted China's advances in innovation and technology.
Innovation-driven development, he said, is key to China's long-term economic resilience and steady growth. He attributed the country's steady and healthy economic growth to a stable environment and innovation-driven development.
On artificial intelligence, Li said China's AI sector has experienced "explosive growth." He noted that multiple Chinese large language models have achieved new performance breakthroughs, with daily token consumption surpassing 100 trillion by the end of May, ranking among the highest in the world. Meanwhile, embodied AI has begun moving toward large-scale commercial deployment.
Noting that some have spread the narrative of a so-called "China Shock 2.0," framing China's development as a shock to the global economy, Li said that for global development, "China Opportunity 2.0" means broader access to advanced technologies and more widely shared development benefits. For enterprises around the world, "China opportunity 2.0" means across-the-board innovation empowerment and high-return investment opportunities. For global development, "China opportunity 2.0" means more accessible advanced technologies and widely shared outcomes.
(Full text of Li Qiang's address at opening plenary of the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions)
High-Level Events
Wang Yi Holds Talks with Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger
On June 25, 2026, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Beijing.
Wang Yi noted that the current international landscape is fraught with chaos, and peace and development have suffered severe setbacks. President Xi Jinping has put forward the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity as well as the four major global initiatives, offering a Chinese solution that serves the common interests of humanity. China congratulates Austria on its election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. China stands ready to step up communication and coordination with Austria, jointly uphold the authority of the United Nations, safeguard international rule of law, fairness and justice, champion multilateralism and free trade, advance the reform and improvement of the global governance system, and make new contributions of the two countries to the cause of world peace and development. China-Europe relations should be defined as a partnership rather than a rivalry. China’s development represents an opportunity instead of a challenge for Europe. China appreciates Austria’s rational and pragmatic policy toward China, and hopes Austria will continue to play a constructive role in advancing China-Europe relations.
Beate Meinl-Reisinger stated that Austria attaches great importance to developing relations with China and will continue to pursue the one-China policy. Austria stands ready to facilitate candid dialogue between Europe and China and promote steady and sound growth of Europe-China relations.
BRICS National Security Advisers’ Meeting Held in New Delhi
On June 23, 2026, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi attended the BRICS National Security Advisers’ Meeting in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. High representatives and heads on national security of BRICS countries attended the meeting and had in-depth exchanges of views on issues including response to non-traditional security challenges, counter-terrorism and cybersecurity.
Wang Yi stated that BRICS cooperation has gone through 20 years and has increasingly become a core force in the world that safeguards peace, promotes development and upholds justice. Facing the complex and profound changes in the current international landscape, China is willing to work with other BRICS countries to jointly address the urgent challenges facing human society and jointly adhere to the right direction of world history evolution.
- First, uphold the international order with BRICS responsibilities.
- Second, break the security deadlock with BRICS consensus.
- Third, respond to global challenges with BRICS actions.
- Fourth, improve governance in emerging fields with BRICS wisdom.
All parties spoke highly of the unique role and remarkable achievements of the BRICS cooperation mechanism. They stated that in the face of the impact of unilateralism and rising uncertainties in the world, BRICS countries must hold high the banner of openness, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win results, uphold the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, adhere to the spirit of mutual respect, cooperate to address various traditional and non-traditional security challenges, firmly safeguard the common interests of the Global South, and jointly build a multipolar world of peace, security, fairness, justice, prosperity and development.
China-EU relations
Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Cai Run at the 12th Europe Forum
On June 24, 2026, the China Europe International Business School held the 12th Europe Forum entitled “Competition or Complementarity? Strategic Opportunities in EU-China AI Development” in Brussels and Shanghai (simultaneously connected). Ambassador Cai Run, Head of the Mission of China to the European Union attended the forum and delivered opening remarks.
- First, China and the EU need to uphold the positioning of partnership. Located respectively on the east and west end of the Eurasian continent, China and the EU have no geopolitical disagreement or fundamental clash of interests. China and Europe are two major forces in building a multipolar world, two big markets supporting globalization, and two great civilizations advocating diversity. Their cooperation and consensus far outweigh competition and differences. The two sides are partners, not rivals, and certainly not enemies. Interdependence does not mean risks, and the convergence of interests does not represent threats. Amid growing changes and turbulence in the international landscape, both China and the EU remain stable, reliable and predictable forces. The China-EU relationship therefore carries greater strategic significance and global influence, and both sides have a stronger imperative to further strengthen their partnership and cooperation. The Chinese side has noticed that the readout of the College of Commissioners described China as a “critical partner.” China hopes that the EU can truly deliver on such a statement and take concrete actions to develop China-EU partnership.
- Second, China and the EU need to uphold cooperation as the defining feature of their relationship. Over the past 50-plus years since China and the EU established diplomatic ties, the relationship has experienced ups and downs, but the overall trajectory has been one of steady progress, with cooperation as the mainstay. Our cooperation has delivered fruitful outcomes, benefiting our two peoples and the whole world. Both sides can not only strengthen cooperation in traditional fields including economy and trade, education, science and technology and tourism, but also discuss the possibility to expand cooperation in emerging sectors such as AI, green development and digital economy. Take AI for example, China has already built its own features and strengths in developing open-source models, applying AI at a large scale and integrating AI with new energy industry. Europe, for its part, enjoys distinctive advantages in AI-related basic research, high-end equipment manufacturing as well as regulatory rules. Our two sides can complement each other, leverage respective strengths, and jointly promote AI development. At this critical juncture of China-EU relations, China hopes that the two sides will work together, to expand the list of cooperation, shorten the list of differences, and inject new impetus into the growth of this relationship.
- Third, China and the EU need to uphold the approach of addressing economic and trade differences and frictions through dialogue and consultation. The essence of China-EU cooperation is complementarity and mutual benefit. Given the large volume and broad areas of our economic and trade cooperation, it is inevitable to encounter differences and frictions. The key is to follow through on the important consensus reached between our leaders and engage in dialogue and consultation to properly address differences and frictions. China understands the EU’s efforts to improve competitiveness and safeguard economic security. Yet we oppose politicizing economic and trade issues and overstretching the concept of security. And we oppose taking restrictive and discriminatory measures against China under the name of “de-risking” and “reducing dependency.” Should the EU side insist on pursuing such measures, China will have to take countermeasures to firmly defend its legitimate interests. Actually, we are fully capable of addressing economic and trade differences and frictions through dialogues. As we can see, important progress was made in China-EU consultations on EV disputes early this year, and positive outcomes were achieved in the upgraded export control dialogue and consultation agendas. China hopes that the EU will work with China in the same direction, make good use of all platforms for communications, facilitate exchanges and cooperation, properly address differences and frictions, and work for the sound and steady development of our bilateral relations and cooperation.
FM Spokesperson's Remarks
Q: As the 17th Summer Davos forum concluded in Dalian yesterday, China’s “market dividends” and “innovation dividends” continue to make headlines, which calls into question such rhetoric as “China shock” or “trade imbalance”. Lately we have seen more objective and rational voices around the world rejecting protectionism and advocating building an open and inclusive world economy. What’s China’s comment?
A: More and more countries have come to realize that seizing “China opportunity 2.0” is a pressing priority and win-win cooperation holds the key to future success.
The quality products China exports to the world is a boon, not a shock. For industries, Chinese equipment and components help them to achieve upgrading and green transition and better integrate into global value chains. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, intermediate goods trade with China has increased the number of developing countries as key global trading hubs from 6 in 2007 to 11 in 2024. For consumers, China’s affordable quality products help ease the strain of inflation by allowing them to reduce household spending. The European Central Bank estimates that a 10 percent increase in Chinese imports to the EU in 2026 would reduce overall import prices by 1.6 percent.
China never seeks trade surplus. Instead, we readily share our domestic market with the rest of the world. In the first five months of this year, China’s import surged by 20.5 percent, outpacing export growth by 8.7 percentage points. Among China’s top 50 trading partners, 32 registered higher growth in export to China than import from China.
A multi-dimensional vision of “China opportunity 2.0” is unfolding before our eyes. The Chinese market will unlock new space for growth. “Made in China” will be further empowered with a more efficient industrial ecosystem. China’s infrastructure development will ensure more enabling conditions. The Chinese government will foster a more open, equitable and friendly business environment. To root your business in China is to embrace opportunities; to integrate into China is to secure a promising future.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758
On October 25, 1971, at the 26th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Resolution 2758 was adopted with an overwhelming majority.
As the voting result was announced, the delegates erupted in applause and cheers.
The Resolution“decides to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations”, which resolved once and for all the question of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the U.N., as a political, legal and procedural issue.
UNGA Resolution 2758 carries extensive and authoritative legal force, and serves as the authoritative basis for the U.N. and organizations related to it to properly handle the Taiwan question. After the adoption of UNGA Resolution 2758, all official U.N. documents referred to Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China.”
The adoption of Resolution 2758 had a wide-reaching and profound political impact on the practice of international relations. It effectively made the one-China principle a basic norm of international relations and a prevailing consensus in the international community. To date, 183 countries have established and developed diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle.
China in Brief
Spending rises during China's Dragon Boat Festival holiday
China's cultural and tourism market sustained growth momentum during Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Domestic trips reached 124 million, up 4.4 percent year-on-year, with total spending of 44.46 billion yuan ($6.55 billion), a four-percent increase. The steady rise across key indicators reflects the holiday economy's continued resilience.
Weekly Quote
In my view, one of the greatest achievements of modern-day China is that China is very modern, but always with Chinese characteristics. And the Communist Party of China is now rooting Chinese modernity in the three old thought systems of China: Confucianism, bringing peace to society; Taoism, bringing peace between humans and nature; and Buddhism, bringing peace to the soul or to bring inner peace. And this modernity with Chinese characteristics is so impressive and we should all try to look into how we can learn from China.
- Erik Solheim, Chair of the Europe-Asia Center and former under-secretary-general of the United Nations
Calling all creatives!
The Chinese and European Youth: Moving Forward Together Cartoon & Short Video Creative Contest is now in full swing!
Show your creativity and share your stories of China-Europe friendship, Chinese culture, and your unique experiences. Exciting prizes—including a free trip to China—are waiting for you!
Submit your original cartoons or short videos by 1 August 2026.
Join us and let your creativity help build bridges between China and Europe!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of China, except those from the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Chinese Mission to the EU and other Chinese governmental websites.
Cilck to subscribe. Please let us know if you have any suggestions or comments about this newsletter.
Editor: ZHANG Lin
