China

Speaking to journalists last week in Brussels, Edward McMillan-Scott pledged to "work alongside" the EPP group in the European parliament. He also reaffirmed his committment to human rights issues, highlighting his concerns about China in particular.

He left the conservative ECR group in protest at alleged far-right backgrounds of some of that group's members, and currently sits as a non-attached MEP, having lost the Tory whip.

The 12th EU-China summit is to be held on November 30 in Nanjing, the capital of eastern China's Jiangsu province.

The “battle for hearts and minds” may be a priority for EU development policy, but it may find itself losing out to both the US and China as both powers compete to challenge Europe’s dominant position as the world’s biggest overseas aid donor.

Political leaders from China, Japan and South Korea indicated last week that they are ready to explore the idea of a community of nations based on the principle of free trade, opening the way toward deeper regional integration. The three nations have already issued a statement confirming their intent to develop a tri-lateral free trade agreement.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is hoping to line up more than 30 contracts worth $5.5 billion, relating to communications, transport, and energy, during his trip to China this week.

Over the last 6 years, trade between the two countries has risen to over $50 billion per annum, and the Kremlin is keen to build on this as it struggles with an economic decline set to reach 7.5% this year - far worse than initially predicted.

Baroness Ashton, the EU trade Commissioner, is currently in China for discussions on trade and investment issues. Speaking ahead of her visit, she said " The EU and China share common goals in trade and investment. We must continue to build confidence in order to realise our full potential and deal effectively with any issues that arise, especially in the face of the economic downturn".