BEIJING: China has expressed concern over the European Union’s recent push to introduce trade restrictions, noting that such measures have adversely affected industrial and supply chain stability and bilateral business cooperation, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Wednesday.
During his meeting with Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, in Beijing on Tuesday, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China and the EU are important economic and trade partners and key supporters of the multilateral trading system.
According to the European Parliament, Lange is leading a delegation from its Committee on International Trade to Beijing, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Shanghai from Tuesday to Thursday.
Wang said two rounds of talks under the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism this year had yielded substantial results, demonstrating both sides’ ability to address differences through dialogue.
He also warned that the EU’s growing use of trade restrictions is disrupting bilateral economic cooperation and putting pressure on cross-border supply chains.
“China is not the source of the EU’s problems, but a partner in finding solutions,” Wang added.
The Chinese commerce minister called on the EU to work with China to expand two-way investment, increase China’s imports from the bloc and explore cooperation in emerging sectors to promote more balanced bilateral trade in accordance with World Trade Organization rules and the principle of reciprocity and mutual benefit.
Lange said that maintaining stable EU-China economic ties is particularly important amid global economic uncertainty.
Lange welcomed Chinese investment in Europe and voiced support for WTO reform. He said the committee he chairs supports continued bilateral consultations to manage differences and is willing to play an active role in facilitating dialogue.
Under the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, the first meeting in Brussels in late June established four workstreams and a joint monitoring mechanism to manage trade frictions.
The second, held in Beijing in early October, produced 16 points of consensus covering trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property rights and WTO reform.
Sun Chenghao, associate research fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy, said continued dialogue offers China and the EU a way to address trade disputes without allowing disagreements in individual sectors to overshadow their broader economic relationship.
Beyond trade disputes, economic cooperation continues to offer opportunities for European businesses in China, he said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
