The EU will hold a video summit with Chinese leaders later this month, officials said Thursday, after coronavirus forced the cancellation of an in-person gathering planned in Germany in September.

The virtual meeting between the heads of the EU institutions and top Chinese officials will be used to prepare a future physical summit.

A planned gathering of all 27 EU leaders with China's President Xi in the German city of Leipzig was cancelled on Wednesday because of the pandemic.

"We are working with the Chinese authorities to agree a date for a bilateral summit between the presidents of the European institutions and the Chinese leaders," EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Virginie Battu-Henriksson told reporters.

This online conference is expected to take place after an EU summit on June 19 but before the end of the month, two European sources told AFP.

The coronavirus pandemic, which began in China and has killed more than 380,000 people around the world, has caused "total havoc" with summit preparations, one official told AFP.

The careful diplomatic build-up that normally precedes meetings as big as the one planned for Leipzig was thrown into disarray by the virus and ensuing travel restrictions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen all cancelled preparatory trips to China.

EU-China relations are going through a rocky patch, as the two sides tussle over trade, human rights and most recently Hong Kong, where Beijing is seeking to tighten its grip.

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