EU, Ukraine open accession talks on fundamentals

The European Union (EU) and Ukraine on Monday officially launched the first cluster of accession talks on fundamentals, the Council of the EU announced.

This first negotiating cluster centers on fundamental principles, covering EU legal frameworks across core areas including the rule of law and fundamental rights, the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and economic standards.

As the backbone of the EU accession process, the fundamentals cluster is the first negotiating topic to be launched and the last to be concluded. Progress in this area will set the pace for the entirety of Ukraine's accession talks.

Throughout the negotiation process, the EU will conduct ongoing assessments of Ukraine's progress in aligning its domestic legal system with EU norms and implementing relevant European standards.

The resilience of China's bulk commodity market is coming into sharper focus as market expectations improve and industry operations hold steady, despite global economic and geopolitical headwinds, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said in a report released on Tuesday.

Against a backdrop of mounting macroeconomic headwinds, intensifying external shocks, and persistent market fragmentation, China's bulk commodity market has distinguished itself through rising trade resilience and accelerated capacity building -- the defining features of its performance through 2025 and into 2026, according to the report.

Industry experts said that the global economy is undergoing its most profound restructuring in decades. Geopolitical friction, wild market swings, and other intertwined factors have thrust the bulk commodity sector into uncharted waters. Yet China possesses the world's largest demand market for bulk commodities, a complete manufacturing system, a robust port and logistics network, and increasingly sophisticated futures and financial markets -- all of which form a solid foundation for weathering external shocks.

Despite unprecedented economic uncertainties, the report said, China's goods trade maintained strong resilience in 2025, with imports of major bulk commodities staying at elevated levels. Crude oil, iron ore, soybeans, and other key varieties continued to register large import volumes, underscoring the country's enduring capacity to absorb global supplies.

In May, China's bulk commodity price index stood at 132.5, up 0.3 percent month-on-month -- marking the third consecutive monthly increase and providing clear evidence that market expectations are steadily rebounding and the sector is improving on a stable footing.

Looking further ahead, the report said that competition in global commodity will increasingly play out across four interconnected arenas: data, carbon, finance, and regulatory frameworks.

"Going forward, China's bulk commodity sector must translate its scale advantage into greater influence over global resource allocation, and steer its trade and business models toward integrated supply chain services that cover the entire industrial chain. That means connecting the full loop of digitalization, logistics, capital flow, and billing, while raising the industry's level of specialization and compliance," said He Hui, vice president of the CFLP.