Serbia is preparing to hold military training exercises with China this month. This is the first time a country that wants to join the European Union (EU) will take part in such drills with the Chinese military.

At the summit, the EU and China are expected to tackle another pressing issue: China’s restrictions on rare earth exports to the EU. While these critical minerals are crucial for the EU’s auto, defense, and renewable energy industries, China has been slow-rolling rare earth licenses for months, in an outgrowth of the China-U.S. trade war.

In response to a media inquiry regarding the EU’s adoption of its 18th package of sanctions against Russia, under which two Chinese financial institutions were included, the spokesperson for Mission of China to the European Union said on Friday night local time that China has always opposed unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and have not been authorized by the UN Security Council.

By Liz Lee and Kate Abnett BEIJING/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Chinese officials have told the European Union the country will produce a new national plan to tackle climate change in the autumn, the European Commission's green chief Teresa Ribera said on Monday.

The China-EU rapprochement will benefit from clear progress, and climate targets provide a near-term opportunity.

China has put export restrictions on technologies critical for producing electric vehicle batteries, in a move to consolidate its dominance in the sector that has contributed to the country’s lead in the global EV race.

Russia-Ukraine war, rare earths, trade protection amid Trump administration tariffs expected to be discussed during summit - Anadolu Ajansı

The EU also targeted the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany to prevent Putin from generating any revenue from them in future, notably by discouraging would-be investors. Russian energy giant Rosneft’s refinery in India was hit as well.

Lingering disputes had already created a dilemma for the EU over how to handle trade with China. Trump’s return has only made it more complicated.

China has barred European medical device companies from selling to its government in response to EU trade restrictions

Japan and the European Union will consider joint public-private partnerships as they look to reduce their reliance on China in areas such as the procurement of rare earths, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.