Cold shoulder? China and EU in diplomatic stand-off ahead of Munich showdown

As a flurry of European leaders flock to China, a different diplomatic dynamic has taken shape in Brussels, exposing deep-seated problems in the relationship between the EU and China.Several sources described a deliberate slowing of high-level appointments with Chinese diplomats in the Belgian capital – an effort to reciprocate the lack of access EU diplomats receive in Beijing.In the Chinese capital, the EU ambassador, Jorge Toledo, has been effectively frozen out of meetings with relevant ministries for a prolonged period, according to multiple sources.In 2018, during Chapuis’ first official meeting with the Chinese foreign ministry, the envoy was asked why he had bothered coming, sources who were present said.“Let’s just say that arranging meetings [in Brussels] has not been considered top priority,” an official said of their side of the stand-off.