EU leaders said Friday that the EU must recognize that China is both a partner and a competitor. Previously, there were calls for the EU to adopt a stronger policy towards the Chinese government on issues such as market openness and the role of state-owned enterprises.
The EU has been trying to avoid choosing a side-line in the multibillion-dollar trade war between Washington and Beijing.
But China's government subsidies, government intervention in the economy and what it sees as a slow pace of reform have increasingly disappointed the EU.
Brussels will host the China-EU Summit on April 9.
European Union leaders had planned to discuss China at Thursday's summit, but their agenda was disrupted by a full day of negotiations among world leaders on how to deal with Britain and its upcoming withdrawal from Europe.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Italy at this time complicates the goal of forming a united front on China. The European skeptical Italy government will sign a memorandum of understanding with China during the visit of Xi Jinping to take part in China's huge "one belt and one road" infrastructure plan.
Other Eastern European countries are also involved in the plan.
The EU debate on China will be combined with discussions on improving European industrial competitiveness. Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz said the debate was long overdue.
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