EU summit to focus on China, Ukraine and bloc budget

European Union leaders are to meet in Brussels on Thursday for two days of talks that will focus on some of the major economic challenges facing the bloc, including competition from China.

The meeting is also likely to see some heated debate over the bloc's budget for the years 2028 to 2034, with the usual divisive negotiations between net contributors and net recipients.

On Friday, leaders are set to discuss further support for Ukraine as it faces a full-scale Russian invasion , with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy due to attend.

The leaders are expected to discuss ways to remedy the bloc's massive trade deficit with China, which reached €360 billion ($400.4 billion) last year and is set to exceed that level this year.

The meeting comes less than a week after the bloc's executive body, the European Commission, reached an agreement with Beijing to curb imports of hybrid cars from China.

The EU has accused China of unfair economic practices, saying its state subsidies for its industries are creating an unlevel playing field.

Industry groups say the surge in imports from China is leading to an increasing number of factory closures in the bloc.

Ahead of the meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron called for new EU measures to counter any actions leading to market distortion.