EU-China summit postponed by coronavirus, EU Commission says

A summit between China and the European Union has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission said on Tuesday, confirming a Reuters report on March 12. China never publicly gave a date for the meeting between Premier Li Keqiang and the new European Commission and European Council presidents, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, but EU diplomats said March 30-31 had been agreed.

"The EU and China have decided jointly that the EU-China summit would not take place for the time being, in order to allow both sides to focus on the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic," an EU spokeswoman said. "The two sides will remain in contact to agree on a date once the situation begins to normalize, including a proper preparatory process to allow substantive results," the spokeswoman said.

The summit had been due to take place in Beijing.