Ties between Beijing and Brussels appeared increasingly strained, just weeks before a high-profile summit.
China on Friday announced it would impose duties on brandy imported from the European Union — widely seen as retribution for the bloc investigating Chinese state subsidies for electric vehicles makers — and reportedly wants to scrap part of the upcoming summit.
The pair had sought to steady their ties in the face of US trade pressure, but a recent visit by China’s foreign minister to Europe laid bare their huge differences on issues ranging from trade to the war in Ukraine: Beijing’s top diplomat told his European counterpart that China could not countenance Russian defeat, the South China Morning Post and La Matinale Européenne both reported.
