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Europe must avoid over-reliance on China, says EU leader

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Europe will engage China, but must "rebalance" its relationship to avoid being too dependent on China in areas such as innovative technology, said Charles Michel, president of the European Council.

Michel said Monday's (14 November) meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden (China) and Xi Jinping (China) was significant and positive in that "there is a choice to compete but not a systemic conflict".

Europe will engage with China, despite any differences, Michel said at a news conference prior to attending the G20 leaders summit.

He said that Europe should not make the same mistakes it made when it relied too heavily on Russia for its fossil fuels.

He said that China is not too dependent on us for the new technology we need now and in the future. "That's why we need to rebalance our relationship, and it's also important to engage with China authorities."

After a pitch from Indonesia, the host country, the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies (G20), open talks on Tuesday in Bali. They will discuss how the bloc can help the global economy recover despite the deep rifts caused by the conflict in Ukraine.

Michel said that Europe must use the G20 meeting as a way to pressure Russia to stop triggering a global food and energy crisis. This is a sign of how difficult it is to reach an agreement between the leaders.

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He said that there was a consensus among officials regarding a text communique to be sent Monday night, which he called "positive". But leaders would have to confirm that such a communique was valid.

Because of disagreements between Russia and the other members over language, such as how to describe war in Ukraine, the G20 ministers gatherings failed to produce joint communiques.

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