EU foreign ministers set for first talks on China since sanctions blitz six months ago

European Union foreign ministers will hold their first high-level talks on China since a flurry of tit-for-tat sanctions in March on Friday, with Beijing’s recent diplomatic row with Lithuania over Taiwan expected to be high on the agenda.

China will feature prominently on the second day of a two-day summit in Slovenia, with the first day of talks devoted to Afghanistan and the EU’s role in “the prevention of a humanitarian catastrophe and a migration wave”, according to an agenda released by host Slovenia, which holds the rotating six-month EU presidency.