Overview

• On July 8, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined Brussels’s agenda for the summit, calling for fair market entry for European companies in China.
• The EU will press Beijing to loosen curbs on rare earth exports, noting China supplies nearly two-thirds of global output and 92% of processed materials.
• Leaders will urge China to abandon its backing of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, a stance von der Leyen described as unacceptable.
• In 2024 the EU ran a $357 billion trade deficit with China, with Brussels citing Chinese export overcapacity and market distortions as key imbalances.
• Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will travel to Beijing on July 24–25 for talks marking five decades of EU-China diplomatic ties.