Good morning. Angela Skujins here, your resident Australian journalist working at Euronews, serving up a breakfast newsletter centred on the evolving politics of superpowers and how middle powers can adapt to them.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump will gear up for his first visit to China in nine years, holding court with President Xi Jinping. Talks are expected to cover the war in Iran, trade tensions and Taiwan – with promises of pomp.
The highly anticipated visit between the world’s two largest economies – their relationship accounted for roughly 44% of the global GDP in 2025 – is a hopeful one.
Despite Trump’s weakened hand, Stefan Grobe writes the Republican leader is angling for a trade deal and potential climb down from now-frozen triple digit tariffs.
With Trump’s second term in power dominated by trade spats, annexationist rhetoric and conflict, smaller nations are weighing alternatives.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney argued at Davos in January that the world should not be run by “hegemons”. Instead, the world’s middle nations that adhere to a rules-based order should come together and form like-minded coalitions.
Enter the Northern Hemisphere country itself, as well as a further flung nation – Australia.
Canada’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Anita Anand told Euronews that Ottawa’s growing ties with the EU and other partners – as emblematic of the 20 security, defence and economic agreements minted in the last year – is “not just a policy response” to Trump’s tariff hammer.
The Canada-EU relationship “will stand the test of time”, Anand said. “What I believe we should be looking at is how we can work together pragmatically for our respective countries to deliver economic benefits and defence and security benefits,” the 59-year-old said.
The foreign minister’s comments came a week after Canada made history as the first non-European country to participate in a European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan, Armenia.
At the EPC, Carney said Europe would not submit to an “insular and brutal world” – and could instead serve as a base from which a new international order could be rebuilt. “We are very enthusiastic about continuing to work with Europe, with like-minded countries,” Anand said of the gathering. Enter Canberra.
In March 2026, between holding koalas and feeding kangaroos, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shook hands with the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to clinch a free trade agreement.
The agreement aims to remove over 99% of tariffs on EU goods and boost other avenues of cooperation, such as defence. The pact will save the EU €1 billion a year in duties, the Commission said, with exports projected to climb as much as 33% over the next decade.
Australia’s Ambassador to the EU and NATO Angus Campbell just told Europe Today that Australia has a “constructive” and “very significant trade relationship with China” – but that Australia’s success relies on diverse partnerships.
“Australia trades into North America, into ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), to South Asia, to North Asia and into Europe,” he said.
“We’re an island continent dependent on global trade, on the rules of trade and free trade agreements matter because they enable the prosperity for all.” Watch.
So as Trump’s visit to Beijing begins to whip up attention – with reports of talks, a banquet, and a visit to a religious site frequented by Ming and Qing dynasty emperors praying for a bountiful harvest – all eyes will be on the Chinese capital and how middle powers can slot themselves into what comes out of it.
EU could propose social media ban for children this summer, von der Leyen says
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday the EU could propose a bloc-wide social media ban for children as early as this summer, amid mounting pressure from member states to strengthen online protections for minors.
As Luca Bertuzzi reports, support for stricter controls has grown in recent months, with France, Spain, Greece and Denmark leading calls for measures to shield children from what governments describe as addictive online platforms.
“We are witnessing the lightning speed at which technology is advancing – and how it penetrates every corner of childhood and adolescence,” von der Leyen told delegates at the European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Copenhagen.
Several EU countries are already pursuing national legislation, although Brussels has faced pressure to maintain a harmonised approach across the bloc’s single market.
More from our newsrooms
EU countries back suspension of funding for the Venice Biennale over Russian participation
Fourteen out of 27 EU member states criticised the reopening of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, which sparked a fierce controversy in Italy, as Brussels called for a suspension of funding. Vincenzo Genovese has the latest.
General strike in Belgium against government reforms draws tens of thousands to the capital
Between 40,000 and 70,000 people marched through the streets of Brussels on Tuesday. The demonstrators gathered at the call of the country’s three main trade unions to denounce the federal government’s reforms, which the trade unions consider to be “anti-social”. Gregoire Lory breaks down the placards and the protests.
Interviews with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur and Australia’s ambassador to Belgium and NATO Angus Campbell.
We’re also keeping an eye on
- European Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and European Commissioner for Transport Apostolos Tzitzikostas will present the Commission’s passenger package for Europeans at midday from Brussels, Belgium.
- European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib will speak on the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Ban on conversion practices in the European Union’ at 2:30 pm in Brussels, Belgium.