EU leaders set to hold trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping via video link, even as tensions mount between Beijing and West over Hong Kong
Brussels says "significant progress" has been made in talks since a similar video summit in June, and officials hope to agree a "roadmap" to get a deal done by the end of the year, but they also warn Beijing needs to do more to improve market access for European companies.
Washington and Beijing this week imposed reciprocal curbs on each other's diplomats, after another tit-for-tat in July when the two governments ordered the closure of consulates in Houston and Chengdu. "The EU stands firm on its interests and values but also wants to cooperate with China," a senior EU official said.
After the June summit, von der Leyen warned China would face "very negative consequences" if it pressed ahead with the law and a month later the EU agreed to limit exports to Hong Kong of equipment that could be used for surveillance and repression. Moreover, Beijing has used its mammoth "Belt and Road" infrastructure scheme to effectively pick off investment-hungry EU member states such as Greece, Portugal and Italy.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trade deal at risk as EU says UK must honour Brexit agreementBrussels has given Boris Johnson three weeks to drop plans to break international law, or the UK will face financial or trade sanctions
Read more »
Trump's first TikTok move: A China quagmire of his own makingPresident Donald Trump has browbeaten his way into yet another expensive and politically loaded standoff with China — this time over an app populated with dancing ferret videos and at-home lip syncs
Read more »
India, China issue joint statement on border dispute calling for quick disengagementIndia's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, met with China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, at the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Moscow.
Read more »
Microsoft warns of 'unsuccessful attacks' on campaigns from Russian, China, IranThe warning from the tech giant targets Russia, China and Iran — the same three foreign actors identified by American intelligence officials as seeking to undermine faith in the upcoming election.
Read more »
India, China agree to disengage thousands of border troopsThe Indian and Chinese foreign ministers agree their troops should disengage from a tense border standoff, maintain proper distance and ease tensions in the Ladakh region where the two sides had their deadliest clash in decades in June.
Read more »
Turkey expects EU to be ‘honest broker’ in eastern MedTurkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu says his country expected the EU to act as an “honest broker” in the eastern Mediterranean region
Read more »