Von der Leyen and Costa will raise thorny issues such as the trade imbalance, rare earths and Ukraine during meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The EU defines China as a "partner, competitor and systemic rival", which frames its strategic approach to China policy.

Top EU leaders told their Chinese counterparts at a summit in Beijing on Thursday that Beijing must do more to level the huge trade surplus it has with Europe.

EU-China relations have reached an "inflection point", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a one-day summit in Beijing.