European Union Foreign Affairs Ministers are to discuss the bloc’s future relations with China and more support for war-torn Ukraine on Friday at a meeting in Stockholm.

In a position paper from 2019, the EU describes China as a partner, competitor and systemic rival, with several EU countries agreeing that rivalry and competition from Beijing had since increased.

China, however, is the EU’s largest trading partner for imports, with a share of 20.8 per cent in 2022, according to European Commission figures.

On some critical raw materials, China almost holds a monopoly.

Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, urged EU countries recently to reduce risks linked to the bloc’s industrial dependency.

Ministers are to discuss how to develop the EU’s relations with China and to what extent to disentangle their economies from Beijing, with varying views across the bloc.

The EU’s continuous military support for Ukraine is the second major topic under discussion in Stockholm, as Kyiv is thought to prepare for a counteroffensive.

Work is also underway on a new EU sanctions package on Russia focusing on tackling the circumvention of existing punitive trade measures on Moscow.

On Saturday, EU ministers are to meet their counterparts from the Indo-Pacific region, stretching from East Africa to island nations in the Pacific.

More than 30 delegations, with the exemption of China and Taiwan, are to participate in discussions on security challenges and green and inclusive growth.

(dpa/NAN)