EU Presses China Over Support for Russia’s War, Export Restrictions on Rare Earths

Chinese companies’ support for Russia’s war in Ukraine poses a ’serious threat' to European security, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a debate on preparations for the June 24–25 NATO summit in The Hague, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on June 18, 2025. Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has told her Chinese counterpart that Beijing should lift its restrictions on rare earth exports and stop enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kallas hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Brussels for the 13th round of strategic dialogue on July 2. According to a statement from the EU’s diplomatic service, their discussions aimed to lay the groundwork for a summit between leaders from both sides later this month.

European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on July 24 and 25.

During her meeting with Wang, Kallas “called on China to put an end to its distortive practices, including its restrictions on rare earths exports, which pose significant risks to European companies and endanger the reliability of global supply chains,” according to the statement.

On trade, Kallas said Beijing should find “concrete solutions to rebalance the economic relationship, level the playing field and improve reciprocity in market access.”

Kallas also “highlighted the serious threat Chinese companies’ support for Russia’s illegal war poses to European security.”

Beijing should “immediately cease all material support that sustains Russia’s military industrial complex” and support “a full and unconditional ceasefire and a just and lasting peace in Ukraine grounded in full respect for the United Nations Charter,” she said.

Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, took on her current EU post last December, replacing Josep Borrell. She first met Wang in Feburary on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

In her February response to a parliamentary question, Kallas called China “a key enabler of Russia’s war” and “the largest provider of dual-use goods and sensitive items that sustain Russia’s military industrial base and that are found on the battlefield in Ukraine​.”

“Without China’s support, Russia would not be able to continue its military aggression with the same force,” Kallas stated at the time.

Kallas said that the EU had placed 33 entities based in China and Hong Kong on a list of specific export restrictions. She also pointed to EU action last December, when six Chinese companies and one Chinese individual were placed on “fully-fledged sanctions,” which include a travel ban and asset freeze, for supplying drone components and microelectronic components in support of Russia’s war.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Kallas also discussed Taiwan, the Middle East, and concerns about human rights in China with Wang.

Regarding Taiwan, Kallas said the EU remains committed to its “One China policy” and opposes “any unilateral attempts to alter the status quo, including by force or coercion.”

According to a statement issued by China’s foreign ministry, Wang told Kallas that the EU should adhere to the Chinese regime’s “One China principle.”

The United States and the EU have long held a “One China policy,” which asserts that there is only one sovereign state with the name “China,” but it is different from the “One China principle” under which the Chinese regime asserts sovereignty over Taiwan.

On July 3, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement praising Kallas’s remarks about Taiwan during her talks with Wang. The ministry added that it will continue to strengthen ties with like-minded partners, such as the EU, to safeguard the rule-based international order.

EU officials had said they would use the Kallas–Wang meeting to urge China to use its leverage as Iran’s primary oil buyer to press Tehran into making a deal over its nuclear programs and ease conflict in the Middle East.

The EU statement did not comment on whether those efforts had produced any results.

However, it said Kallas and Wang “agreed on the importance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.”

France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union are parties to a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, a deal that the United States withdrew from in 2018.

On June 30, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not offering Iran anything and there were no plans for talks with Tehran. The U.S. military bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 21.

Reuters contributed to this report.