Before Covid-19 made the world tumble, 2020 was predicted to be a very important year for both China and the European Union.

At a summit in September, the two sides expected a significant step forward in economic and strategic relations.

When everything is settled, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with EU leaders and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Leipzig, Germany, on September 14.

German diplomats said the site was chosen because of the historical East German relationship with China.

Indeed, drawing China closer to European values of human rights, climate change and multilateralism has always been considered a legacy for any leader.

Although the Leipzig summit has not been a breakthrough in the relationship between Europe and China, its level of interest still makes many people expect.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic is re-establishing European thinking about China, commented commentator Luke McGee from CNN.

"I think Covid-19 is a necessary reminder for European countries that even though Chinese money is attractive, they are still a system opponent of us," said Steven Blockmans, policy leader for foreign policy.

Blockmans refers to a joint statement issued by the European Commission (EC) in March last year, describing China as "a system opponent that fosters alternative governance models".

Amid the pandemic, this Chinese government model is causing concern for EU officials.

Last month, the European External Action Service published a report on the state of disturbing information surrounding Covid-19, saying "official and state-backed sources from various governments, including

A few days ago, Politico Europe posted an excerpt from what it called a draft, which allegedly named China in a "global misinformation campaign to deflect accusations."

A spokesman for the EU's foreign policy and security agency said the text Politico cited was practically not a draft report.

Whatever the truth, the above story clearly shows that anxiety about Chinese behavior is evident in Brussels.

Last week, Josep Borrell, senior representative for EU foreign policy and security, in an interview with French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, said Europe was "naive" when dealing with China.

At present, very few people believe that the Leipzig summit will take place as what Chancellor Merkel imagined.

In practical terms, an outbreak means that the two sides cannot meet face to face.

Velina Tchakarova, head of the European Institute of Austrian Security and Policy, predicts "China's actions during and after Covid-19 will lead to greater disagreements and divisions within European countries over how to behave.

She noted that disagreements can arise on a range of issues such as allowing Chinese companies to build 5G networks or EU-level decisions on who can or cannot invest in member states.

For these reasons, most people believe that the Leipzig summit will be completely overshadowed by nCoV.

However, despite the low level of confidence in the openly acknowledging that China is a "system opponent," the EU still seems to be trying to get things back on track.

"Covid-19 made us rethink but at the same time, we cannot avoid China," an EU diplomat said.

Another German diplomat said that "China's influence is increasing but not from one side. Clearly, China also needs Europe."

For the EU, cooperation with China is more than just money.

"Increasing interaction with China gives the EU an opportunity to advance its strategic priorities," Blockmans commented, referring to the important EU foreign policy priority of balancing the relationship between China and China.

Still, worrying about China's transparency in the pandemic is another reminder of what the increased cooperation with Beijing really means, according to commentator McGee from CNN.

On the one hand, EU calculations remain unchanged.

Sooner or later, Europe will have to weigh these two facts and decide how much diplomatic independence with the US is worth, McGee stressed.