China, EU to focus on trade, investment and climate as Trump ponders

The European Union said today that China and the 28-member bloc will focus on trade and investment and climate change, as Presidenrt Donald Trump considers withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during Friday's Sino-EU summit.

The EU made the announcement ahead of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's arrival in Brussels on Thursday afternoon after his German tour.

It said that Li will be holding informal meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker late on Thursday before their summit on Friday morning.

After the summit, Li will meet Belgian leaders before wrapping his up his European tour, which started on Wednesday.

While the summit will be focusing on investment and trade, the EU said in a background document: "The second agenda item will focus on global, international and regional issues. This will include climate change and clean energy, in particular in relation to the implementation of the Paris Agreement."

The media has reported that China and the EU will be making joint declaration on climate change once Trump has announced his decision, expected later today.

The EU said the Sino-EU summit will be the first one since the adoption of the new EU strategy on China in July 2016, which sets out how both sides can take advantage of their cooperation to promote long-term benefits for EU and Chinese citizens.

"The first item on the formal agenda is EU-China bilateral relations, with a focus on trade and investment, including the negotiations towards a Comprehensive Investment Agreement," the EU said in the document.

The EU said that connectivity will also be on the agenda, as leaders are expected to prioritize progress on the EU-China connectivity platform. The aim is to coordinate on transport policies and to identify projects of common interest between Europe and China, based on transparency and a level playing field.