China denies inviting European leaders to meet Xi in November

At a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called the report "fake news". "I don't know where they got the information. What I can tell you is, this is fake news," he said.

China denied it had sent invitations to European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to meet with President Xi Jinping in Beijing in November, disputing a South China Morning Post report.

The report cited a senior source familiar with the situation as saying that invitations have also been sent to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. At a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called the report "fake news".

"I don't know where they got the information. What I can tell you is, this is fake news," he said.