The European Parliament condemned China on Thursday over its export restrictions on rare earths and insisted the European Union must reject any attempts by Beijing to use the restrictions to force concessions from the bloc.

EU imports nearly all rare earths from China; experts warn of 'blackmail' risk as bloc faces pressure from Trump tariffs, Beijing's grip ahead of high-stakes EU-China summit

China hit back at the European Union’s restrictions on its medical device makers while maintaining key exceptions, adding uncertainty to ties ahead of a high-stakes summit later this month.

China hopes the European Union would make fewer accusations, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday in a retort to EU criticism that European firms had limited access to the Chinese market.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Europe to set the tone for the upcoming EU-China Summit, but the differences are such between the two sides that the summit could become meaningless and get condensed to a one-day affair.

The Chinese government intends to cancel part of a two-day summit with European Union leaders planned for later this month in the latest signs of the tensions between Brussels and Beijing.

The originally scheduled two-day meeting in July will now just be one day in Beijing. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Hungary has made virtually no progress in addressing European Union concerns about democratic backsliding over the last year, the EU's justice commissioner said Tuesday, as he unveiled the bloc’s annual rule of law report.

China hit back at European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after she accused the nation of distorting trade and limiting access for Europe’s firms — a back-and-forth clouding the outlook for an upcoming summit.