BEIJING (Reuters) -Expectations are rock-bottom for an EU-China summit on Thursday that will test European resolve and unity as the bloc faces intense trade pressure from both Beijing and the United States,

"Strengthening air defense capabilities is clearly an urgent priority for Iran at the moment," expert Hongda Fan told Newsweek.

Russia sought to do this naval drill primarily to show it is still interested in joint cooperation with Iran. Iran and Russia began a naval exercise on Monday.

Russia operations and North Korean threats pose the greatest challenge to global order since World War II, in its annual assessment.

"Cooperation among China, Russia, and India not only aligns with the respective interests of the three countries, but also contributes to regional and global peace, security, stability, and progress," the spokesperson, Lin Jian, told a regular briefing in Beijing.

Russia’s got one trading partner left that still writes big checks:- China. And those checks just got a hell of a lot bigger.

Russia's largest carmaker Avtovaz on Tuesday said it may shorten its working week to four from five days, a rare move from a major state-owned employer, as high interest rates and competition from China squeeze its sales.

That included a surge of exports from China to Russia, which jumped 63.2% from a year ago to reach $71.8 billion. Imports into China rose at a more modest 13.3% to $83.3 billion.

Officials in Tokyo released their Defense of Japan 2025 white paper this week with findings the international community is facing its greatest risk of conflict since World War II. The paper pointed to Russia,