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EU summit on China called off as coronavirus resurges: Angela Merkel

A planned European Union summit on the bloc's China policy that was to be held in Berlin has been called off because of the resurgent coronavirus pandemic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said

German Chancellor Angela Merkel brief the media about measures to avoid further spread of the coronavirus and the COVID -19 disease after a government meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Photo PTI

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

AP Brussels

A planned European Union summit on the bloc's China policy that was to be held in Berlin next month has been called off because of the resurgent coronavirus pandemic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday.

The 27-nation EU's leaders had planned to meet in Berlin on Nov. 16 to discuss policy toward China.

Merkel said after an EU summit in Brussels on Friday that the meeting won't go ahead.

We will have to do without it, because I think that is a necessary message in terms of (reducing) contacts, she added.

New coronavirus infections are surging across Europe, prompting governments to impose renewed restrictions.

 

Germany currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. Its plans to hold a meeting of leaders from the EU's member countries and China in the German city of Leipzig in September were already dashed by the pandemic.

In the end, Merkel and the EU's top officials held a video conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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First Published: Oct 16 2020 | 7:58 PM IST

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