Leaders of the European Union met with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Thursday in an effort to stabilize a relationship that has deteriorated in recent years over security, a soaring trade imbalance and China’s tacit support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Mr. Xi’s meeting with Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, was the first in-person summit of the leaders of China and the European Union in more than four years.

The summit was not expected to result in any significant breakthroughs. Trust between the China and the European Union has been eroded by failed promises to open China’s market wider for European businesses, as well as by Beijing’s crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. China also views Europe as being widely influenced by Beijing’s chief competitor, the United States.

Beijing has tried to court Europe to drive a wedge between the region and Washington. The war in Ukraine, however, has only strengthened the trans-Atlantic alliance as Europe has grown increasingly reliant on Washington for military aid.

The 27-member European bloc has labeled Beijing a “strategic rival” and agreed in June to work toward “de-risking” its supply chains by limiting their dependence on Chinese firms. The European Union has also aligned itself with the United States in adopting restrictions on the trade of high-tech products with China.