At the summit's conclusion, von der Leyen reiterated that the way in which China "continues to interact with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war will be a determining factor [in their EU] relations going forward," showing that the EU and China both walked away from the table with disagreements — ones they put aside to fight climate change.

The European Union and China are preparing a landmark joint statement on climate cooperation, a move that could help galvanize momentum ahead of the COP30 summit in Brazil later this year.