China-EU Summit to Be Postponed Due to Coronavirus: Sources

China-EU Summit to Be Postponed Due to Coronavirus: Sources
Chinese leader Xi Jinping (R) meets with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (L) and European Council President Donald Tusk (2nd L) during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 16, 2018. Ng Han Guan/AFP/Getty Images
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BRUSSELS—A summit planned for the end of March in Beijing between China and the European Union is set to be postponed due to the coronavirus, two EU officials and two diplomats said, in a blow for the bloc’s efforts to pressure the Chinese over free trade.

China never publicly gave a date for the meeting between Chinese 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.