“I am sorry to be pessimistic – the next EU-China summit will be a wonderful summit with wonderful statements of principles, but I doubt that we will get some strategic incremental progress,” Italy’s ambassador to China, Massimo Ambrosetti, said at the World Peace Forum in Beijing on Friday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will travel to Beijing for the summit, which is expected to take place over two days from July 24, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of EU-Chinese relations.

05:05

Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan, troubled US-China trade ties in call breaking stand-off

Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan, troubled US-China trade ties in call breaking stand-off

“We have to realistically consider that the preparation of the summit was, of course, influenced by the negotiations on tariffs – between the EU and the US, between China and the US – it is a terribly complicated context,” Ambrosetti said. “So it’s not surprising that probably we will not have all the results that we hoped for.

“But it’s always good to have dialogue and institutional interactions, provided that we look at the future in a really strategic, longer-term perspective.”

The EU member states – once deemed “nastier than China” by Trump – have been racing to secure a deal, but there have been no breakthroughs.