China has denied it invited European leaders to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, but a senior diplomatic source confirmed the EU countries had been approached about visiting Beijing.

The South China Morning Post reported on Monday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez were invited for a meeting with Xi in November, citing the source.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called the report "fake news" in a daily press conference on Tuesday.

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"I don't know where they got the information. What I can tell you is, this is fake news," Zhao said.

Asked about the Chinese foreign ministry's denial, the well-placed source confirmed that these EU member states had been approached about a potential visit in November and were currently deliberating how to deal with the issue.

Debate is ongoing in both Berlin and Paris over the potential meetings, which would see the leaders land in Beijing after the 20th party congress, when Xi is expected to start a new term, according to the source.

"He wants, I think, something like a coronation ceremony where the leaders of the world come to Beijing to pay tribute to Xi the third, like Napoleon the third," said the senior diplomat, referring to Xi's likely third term in office.

The source said invitations were still informal and were expected to be formalised later in the year.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to Europe in September on his way to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to make preparations.

"It will be up to Wang Yi to assess what is feasible when he goes to Europe in September," the source said.

The senior source, who is intimately involved in EU-China affairs, said that big European Union member states are currently trying to establish how they could work with Beijing constructively on issues pertaining to the Russian war in Ukraine.

"We have differences on the causes and the impact of a war - they are well known. But where are the eventual commonalities between China and Europe of the war in Ukraine, if any?" the source said.

Areas of potential convergence include opposition to the use of weapons of mass destruction, refusal to recognise separatist republics, food security and humanitarian aid.

Relations between China and the EU have been strained over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong and tension over Taiwan.

Retaliatory sanctions over human rights stalled an ambitious investment deal despite seven years of marathon negotiations.

EU trade and finance officials were expected to suggest to China that it could unilaterally implement the terms of the agreement as a show of good faith during trade talks on Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the dialogue.

The EU is also preparing a ban on products made using forced labour, a proposal for which is due in September.

However, unlike a sweeping US ban on goods made in Xinjiang over alleged human rights abuses, the EU's ban would cover all goods within the single market, regardless of whether they are made inside or outside the EU.

Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses against Xinjiang's mainly Muslim Uygur population.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has warned against lumping China into the same geopolitical basket as Russia, saying that "for the moment" each should be considered differently.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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