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China’s president arrives as EU anti-subsidy investigations and tensions over espionage, Ukraine and Taiwan continueChina’s president, Xi Jinping, is to visit Europe next week for the first time in five years, in a tour that will take in the unlikely trifecta of France, Hungary and Serbia.The visit comes as China pushes to avoid a trade war with the EU, while attitudes towards Beijing in...

End of secretary of state Antony Blinken’s three-day visit marks upsurge in military activity after period of relative calmTaiwan has reported that a dozen Chinese warplanes flew sorties close to the island on Saturday, in a sudden surge of military activity just hours after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, left Beijing following talks with President Xi Jinping and top Chinese officials.Before Blinken’s...

Olaf Scholz says European cars should have equal access to Chinese customersEurope live – latest updatesThe chancellor of Germany has urged industry bosses in China to play fair by not overproducing cheap goods or infringing copyright rules.Speaking on a three-day visit to China, where he is travelling with leading business representatives and three government ministers, Olaf Scholz said he, in turn, would encourage the...

German chancellor follows in the footsteps of Joe Biden and other leaders on social media platformThe German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has opened a TikTok account, promising he will not be seen dancing on the social media platform popular with young people.The newest official government channel “increases the information offer to citizens, who increasingly inform themselves and discuss politics on TikTok”, Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit,...

Presidents clashed over Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology in first direct interaction since NovemberJoe Biden and Xi Jinping have clashed in a telephone call about Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology, but sought to manage their tensions as two top US officials prepare to visit Beijing.The nearly two-hour telephone conversation on Tuesday was the two leaders’ first direct interaction since a...

Economists say 5% target is ambitious, as premier Li Qiang tells annual gathering that global economy and problems at home are presenting hurdles to recoveryChina has set its target for GDP growth at 5%, in line with analysts’ expectations for another year of historically modest ambitions for the economy, amid regional tensions and its demographic crisis.China’s premier, Li Qiang, spoke of the “challenges” facing...

Policy blueprint to be set out for year ahead and big personnel changes may be announcedThousands of delegates are due to arrive in Beijing this weekend for China’s most high-profile political gathering, a closely observed series of meetings that will lay out the government’s policy blueprint for the year ahead.The event, known as the “two sessions”, begins on Monday as China’s parliament, the National...