President Xi Jinping has declined an invitation to visit Brussels for a summit to mark the 50th anniversary of European Union-China diplomatic ties, reports said .

Beijing told EU officials that Premier Li Qiang would meet the presidents of the European Council and European Commission instead of Xi, the Financial Times said, citing sources.

The premier usually attends the summit when it is held in Brussels, while the president hosts it in Beijing, but the EU wants Xi to attend to commemorate half a century of relations between Beijing and the bloc, reports said. Tensions between Brussels and Beijing have grown since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the EU accusing China of backing the Kremlin.

Last year, the EU also imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports.

"Informal discussions are ongoing, both about setting the date for the EU-China summit this year and the level of representation," an EU official told the newspaper, while the Chinese ministry was quoted as saying it did not have any information to provide on the matter.

China, the world's second-biggest economy, and the EU, the third-largest, spent most of 2024 exchanging barbs over allegations of overcapacity, illegal subsidies and dumping in each other's markets.

In October, the EU imposed double-digit tariffs on China-made electric vehicles after an anti-subsidy investigation, in addition to its standard car import duty of 10 percent.

The move drew loud protests from Beijing, which in return raised market entry barriers for certain EU products such as brandy.

It was also reported that China has been approaching the chief executives of top global companies about a meeting with Xi later this month.

Authorities in Beijing have reportedly approached CEOs planning to attend the China Development Forum this weekend, with the potential meeting slated to take place on March 28.

About 72 executives - including HSBC's Georges Elhedery and Aramco's Amin Nasser - are scheduled to attend the forum.

REUTERS

Xi Jinping AFP

Xi declines invite for summit with EU in Brussels