By Liz Lee and Xiuhao Chen BEIJING (Reuters) -China confirmed on Monday it will hold a top-level summit with the European Union in Beijing this week marking 50 years of diplomatic ties as both sides seek to navigate trade disputes amid broader global trade uncertainties.

"China has an influence on Russia, like the European Union has an influence on Ukraine," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Mr Xi urged the EU officials at the summit to "adhere to open cooperation and properly handle differences and frictions" after Ms von der Leyen warned that the bloc’s ties with China were at an “inflection point” and called for a rebalancing of trade ties with the world's second largest economy.

Two of the world’s biggest polluters want to combat climate change — but neither wants to give an inch while doing it.

The United States and the European Union have reached a preliminary trade deal to avoid a 30% U.S. tariff on imported goods from the EU that President Donald Trump threatened would go into effect on Aug. 1. Trump had argued that higher tariffs were needed because EU tariffs and nontariff policies “cause the large and unsustainable trade deficits” between the U.S. and the EU, but economists disputed that statement. Q: Is it true that if President Donald Trump hadn’t defunded the National Weather Service, the death toll in the Texas flooding would have been far lower or nonexistent? A: The Trump administration did not defund the NWS but did reduce the staff by 600 people. Those staffing cuts did not cause the high number of deaths in the flash floods on July 4, experts said. Local forecasting offices were sufficiently staffed and issued timely warnings. But experts raised concerns about key positions being vacant, which could have affected coordination with local communities.

The European Union and China celebrated 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations at a high-profile summit in Beijing on Thursday. But many contentious issues dampened the festive mood.

The agreement between Donald Trump, the US President, and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on the introduction of a 15% customs tariff on almost all European products imported by the US (except for aluminum and steel for which the 50% tariffs remain in force),

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says mechanism will help unblock bottlenecks in the critical minerals.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for an "essential" rebalancing of trade ties with China during a tense summit on Thursday with President Xi Jinping, saying ties stood at an "inflection point",