In a joint statement, which Bloomberg News has seen, they promise to deliver updated climate plans ahead of the UN climate meeting in Brazil later this year.
"The two sides agree to show leadership together to drive a global fair transition in connection with sustainable development and poverty eradication", it says in the draft.
Prior to the summit between the EU and China, which is taking place in Beijing, China's President Xi Jinping said that the EU and China must work to deepen trust, and that the two parties can find common ground despite their differences, according to the state television channel CCTV.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has urged both the EU and China to "recognize their respective problems and come up with real solutions". China is trying to strengthen its relationship with the EU to show itself to be a more stable partner than the US.
At the same time, the EU is putting pressure on China to "use its influence to get Russia to accept a ceasefire, to come to the negotiating table, participate in peace talks and end the bloodshed", say von der Leyen and the President of the European Council, António Costa, during a press conference in Beijing.
Ursula von der Leyen also said on Thursday that the union had agreed with Beijing on an "upgraded" system for Chinese exports of rare earth metals, which has been a major stumbling block in relations.
