China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during an otherwise tense bilateral summit in Beijing on Thursday riven with major disagreements over trade and the war in Ukraine.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged the European Union to make “the right strategic choice” and enhance cooperation with China, while EU leaders called for a rebalancing of trade ties, as the two sides tackle deep-seated grievances at a tense summit in Beijing.

But the worst-case scenarios were so bad that Europe’s trade negotiators gave up on returning to anything close to those halcyon days. Over the past few months Mr Trump, convinced that the EU was ripping off his countrymen,

Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, the heads of the European Commission and the European Council respectively, will be in Beijing for a summit to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union.

The trade agreement reached between the U.S. and European Union reaffirms an emerging pattern: higher tariffs, purchase commitments, investment agreements—and a lot of confusion.

China is a "critical partner" to Europe with a range of shared interests, state news agency Xinhua said in a commentary piece, downplaying Beijing's rivalry with the European Union bloc hours before a key summit between leaders of both sides on Thursday.

Chinese electric car company BYD’s accelerating plans in Turkey may mark a turning point in its push into Europe as competition with Tesla shifts gears.

China controls 85 per cent of global rare-earth processing, a significant risk for Europe. Breaking free from China’s dominance of rare earths will not be a simple feat for the European Union, even though both sides reached a tentative deal to ease Beijing’s limitations on their exports.

China's exports of key refined fuels are on track to jump to the highest in 16 months as refiners take advantage of rising profit margins.