At the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, travelled to Beijing for the 16th China-EU Summit, from 20th to 21st November 2013. Prior to the Summit, President Xi Jinping of the Peoples' Republic of China, met President van Rompuy and President Barroso. Premier Li Keqiang hosted the Summit on 21st November.

The two sides exchanged views on the strategic partnership, domestic developments and the economy, trade and investment relations, bilateral cooperation, international and global issues, in full and frank discussions regarding all matters of concern to either side.

China and the EU announced the launch of negotiations of the China-EU Investment Agreement. They welcomed the launch of the China-EU Dialogue on Innovation Cooperation, and highly appreciated the successful dialogue and outcomes at the China-EU Urbanisation Partnership Forum, the China-EU Urbanisation Exhibition and the 6th round of China-EU Energy Dialogue, which all took place at the side of the Summit. They also welcomed the holding of the Business Summit and of the High-Level Regional Policy Dialogue.

During the Summit, the following agreements were signed:

- Administrative Agreement for an Intellectual Property Cooperation;

- China-EU Joint Declaration on Energy Security;

- Letter of Intent on Research and Innovation Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology.

Both sides jointly adopted the China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation, a comprehensive document setting out China and the EU's shared aims to promote cooperation in the areas of peace and security, prosperity, sustainable development and people-to-people exchanges, to take forward the China-EU Comprehensive Strategic Partnership over the coming years. The two sides will fully implement the Strategic Agenda through their annual Summit, which provides strategic guidance to the relationship; through the three pillars directly underpinning the Summit (the annual High Level Strategic Dialogue, the annual High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue and the bi-annual High Level People-to-People Dialogue); through their regular meetings of counterparts; and through their broad range of sectoral dialogues.