European Council President Charles Michel will travel to Beijing on December 1 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the European Union tries to decide how to treat China amid U.S. pressure for a tougher approach.

The EU and Chinese leaders will discuss global challenges as well as issues of mutual interest "against the backdrop of a tense geopolitical and economic environment."

The visit follows German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's trip to China earlier this month and French President Emmanuel Macron's call for engagement with Beijing. Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has made efforts to coordinate with other key chipmaking countries to resist U.S. pressure to impose drastic restrictions on chip production in China.

Still, the U.S. and the EU are seeking to work together to resist what they call non-market policies, including in China, according to a draft statement obtained by Bloomberg ahead of high-level talks due to take place in Washington next month.

EU member states held a strategic discussion of the bloc's relationship with China in October, with some leaders calling for a closer look at its role as a systemic rival, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it was becoming an increasingly tough adversary.