Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged the European Union to make “the right strategic choice” and enhance cooperation with China, while EU leaders called for a rebalancing of trade ties, as the two sides tackle deep-seated grievances at a tense summit in Beijing.

Expectations are rock-bottom for an EU-China summit on Thursday that will test European resolve and unity as the bloc faces intense trade pressure from both Beijing and the United States, analysts say.

European leaders are meeting with top Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss trade, climate change and global conflicts.

They came to celebrate fifty years of relations. But they left through the side door with their spirits in pieces. There was no toast. There were