Tense EU-China summit showdown unlikely to bear fruit

On Thursday and Friday (7-8 December), European leaders will be in Beijing for the first face-to-face EU-China summit since 2019 — but from which Brussels does not expect any major deliverables.

During the two-day meeting, the presidents of the EU Commission and Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, together with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, will meet Chinese president Xi Jinping and his premier Li Qiang.

While the agenda contains no surprises, that does not...