China-EU special summit to have trade focus, as US election looms

Extraordinary summit will prioritise EU-China investment agreement, source reveals

Talks by video between President Xi Jinping and some European leaders come as EU plots its path through US-China rivalry

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The September summit will take place by video between Xi Jinping and several European heads of government. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:30pm, 21 Aug 2020Updated: 4:31pm, 22 Aug 2020

Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a video summit with some European Union leaders in mid-September that is set to put trade in the spotlight just weeks before the US presidential election, the South China Morning Post has learned.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to join the September 14 summit, alongside Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, presidents of the European Council and European Commission respectively.

The EU is negotiating with China over a potential investment agreement that seeks to protect European business interests in the world’s second-biggest economy.

“The priority of the special summit is going to be on concluding the EU-China investment agreement by the end of this year,” an EU source briefed on the matter said.

Von der Leyen told Xi in June to step up political attention on ongoing investment talks by the “end of summer” to clinch a treaty by the end of the year.

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