China spared major cognac producers Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau from hefty duties on EU brandy on Friday, a rare bright spot at a time of trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing as the two sides row over tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

With no progress on a host of disputes – including rare earths, electric vehicles, and the war in Ukraine – the summit scheduled to mark 50 years of relations between the European Union and China at the end of July in Beijing is expected to be shortened by a day.