President Xi Jinping told European Union leaders on Thursday, December 7, that China and the bloc must “jointly respond to global challenges” in his opening remarks at a summit in Beijing.

“We must jointly respond to global challenges and work together to promote world stability and prosperity”" Xi told European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told European Union leaders that he wants the two sides to be key trade partners capable of building trust over supply chains, as they met in Beijing to hash out a litany of economic concerns and frustrations: “China is promoting high-quality development and high-level opening up, and is willing to regard the EU as a key partner in economic and trade cooperation. China wants to consider Europe a trusted partner in industrial and supply chain cooperation to pursue mutual benefit”.