China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during a tense summit in Beijing.

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.

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 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.

DA WEI is Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy and a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University.

While our previous article examined the financial viability of various green solutions, this one focuses on the three main challenges confronting European aluminium producers. Competing with China and the US remains a formidable challenge for Europe,

A new factory in Hungary will help the Chinese automaker take on auto giants like Volkswagen on their home turf.

In May EU leaders said they were ready to “work hand in hand” with China to deal with “common challenges”. But the Europeans’ short-lived friendliness was as much an attempt to manipulate the Americans as it was a bid to woo the Chinese,

After a “constructive” round of talks ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “nothing is agreed until we speak with President Trump.”

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.