Overview

• The summit was reduced to a single day in Beijing as leaders grappled with global economic uncertainty, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the threat of renewed US tariffs
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa met President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic ties
• China agreed to suspend sanctions on EU lawmakers who criticized its human rights record in Xinjiang but offered no further concessions on Tibet or Hong Kong
• Talks failed to secure new commitments on addressing the EU’s €360–400 billion trade deficit, diversifying rare earth mineral supplies or curbing China’s support for Russia in Ukraine
• Officials departed with low expectations for immediate breakthroughs, reflecting enduring strategic divergences over market access, geopolitical alignment and human rights