Von der Leyen and Costa will raise thorny issues such as the trade imbalance, rare earths and Ukraine during meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The EU defines China as a "partner, competitor and systemic rival", which frames its strategic approach to China policy.

After a one-day summit in Beijing, the European Union insisted on the need to immediately rebalance trade relations with China. View on euronews

A zero-tolerance crackdown has swooped up illegal traders, and foreign violators will be added to the country’s export blacklist, according to the Ministry of Commerce.