China's commerce minister and the European Union's trade chief had a "candid and in-depth" discussion on economic and trade cooperation as well as other issues that both sides face, the Chinese ministry said on Wednesday.

Iran schedules diplomatic meetings with Russia, China and European nations as the deadline approaches for a new nuclear deal to avoid the reimposition of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

"Cooperation among China, Russia, and India not only aligns with the respective interests of the three countries, but also contributes to regional and global peace, security, stability, and progress," the spokesperson, Lin Jian, told a regular briefing in Beijing.

Expectations are rock-bottom for an EU-China summit on Thursday that will test European resolve and unity as the bloc faces intense trade pressure from both Beijing and the United States, analysts say.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China’s dependence on Iranian and Russian oil is a key issue in upcoming trade talks.

"Strengthening air defense capabilities is clearly an urgent priority for Iran at the moment," expert Hongda Fan told Newsweek.

Russia operations and North Korean threats pose the greatest challenge to global order since World War II, in its annual assessment.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat that Beijing can’t accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China,

Russia sought to do this naval drill primarily to show it is still interested in joint cooperation with Iran. Iran and Russia began a naval exercise on Monday.