The Ministry of Commerce Photo: VCG

China has always maintained that the essence of China-EU economic and trade relations is complementary advantages and mutual benefit, and China-EU economic and trade cooperation is the result of a combination of factors, including differences in the economic development stages and industrial structures of both sides, as well as changes in market demand, He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Chinese Commerce Ministry, said on Thursday.

He made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on an opinion piece by French President Emmanuel Macron published in the Financial Times, in which he claimed that during his last visit to China, he made it clear that either we rebalance economic relations co-operatively, or Europe will have no choice but to adopt more protectionist measures.

Noting that the EU has recently been increasing its trade and economic restrictions on China, He said since the beginning of this year, the EU has launched 12 trade remedy investigations and three foreign subsidy investigations against China, and has barred multiple Chinese companies from participating in public procurement and greenfield investment projects in EU member states. 


He said "it is hoped that the EU will work with China to uphold the important consensus reached at the China-EU leaders' meeting, jointly oppose protectionism, maintain open markets, exercise restraint and prudence in using restrictive trade and economic tools, and provide a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, and predictable business environment for Chinese enterprises to conduct trade and investment cooperation in Europe."

Global Times