In the coming hours, leaders from China and the European Union will meet in Beijing.

The 20th China-EU leaders’ meeting comes at an interesting political moment. With both sides facing trade pressure from the US Trump Administration. With both sides facing trade pressure from the US, China and the EU have responded with stiff tariffs of their own. Billions of dollars’ worth of commerce impacted. Ahead of meeting on July 16, Beijing extended an invitation to the EU to jointly fight trade unilateralism.

In an editorial, China’s Ambassador to the EU, Zhang Ming, writes: “I hope that during the summit, China and the EU will consolidate consensus and trust, enhance cooperation, and send a joint message of defending multilateralism, free trade and investment facilitation.”

Together, China and the EU represent a significant force — accounting for almost half of all global trade. The EU is looking for China to speed up the process of opening its market. Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang promised more cooperation with European companies during his European tour last week. Besides trade and investment, both sides are also expected to talk about climate change, the Iran nuclear deal, Syria, and other international challenges.