China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao meets with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic on March 26, 2026 in Yaounde, Cameroon. Photo: Screenshot from China's Ministry of Commerce

China is willing to actively expand imports from Europe and hopes that the European side will relax export controls on high-tech products and refrain from politicizing or weaponizing economic and trade issues, China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said on Thursday, during a meeting with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic while attending the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Friday.

The two sides had in-depth exchanges of views on issues including WTO reform and China-EU economic and trade relations.

During the meeting, Wang said that as both China and Europe are firm supporters and active contributors to the multilateral trading system, the two sides should work together to promote practical outcomes at MC14 in areas such as WTO reform, the investment facilitation agreement, and e-commerce, so as to help all parties - especially developing members - better integrate into the multilateral trading system and benefit more from multilateral win-win cooperation.

The most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment is the cornerstone of the multilateral trading system. China and Europe should stand firm and set an example in upholding the MFN principle. China pays high attention to certain members' abuse of industrial policies and disruption of subsidy disciplines, and holds an open attitude toward discussing fair competition issues within the WTO framework, Wang noted.

Wang said that China and Europe are important economic and trade partners to each other. The two sides should strengthen dialogue and communication. He expressed the hope that the European side would view China's development in a rational and objective manner, properly handle frictions and differences, and jointly promote the healthy and positive development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

China pays high attention to a series of trade and economic tools introduced by the European side in recent years, particularly the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the Proposal for a revised Cybersecurity Act, and the Industrial Accelerator Act. These protectionist legislations will seriously affect normal China-EU economic and trade cooperation and the stability of industrial and supply chains. China hopes that the European side will attach great importance to China's serious concerns and properly resolve them through dialogue and consultation, Wang noted.

Sefcovic said that the EU and China share broad consensus on WTO reform and the EU is willing to work together with China to ensure the success of MC14 and jointly safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system, according to the MOFCOM report. The EU recognizes that MFN treatment is the cornerstone of the multilateral trading system, but it needs to be recalibrated in light of evolving circumstances. 

Facing a new situation in EU-China economic and trade cooperation, the EU is willing to strengthen engagement with China, properly and effectively manage differences, and ensure the steady development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Sefcovic said, the MOFCOM reported. He invited Minister Wang to visit the EU headquarters within the year for comprehensive and in-depth discussions on EU-China bilateral economic and trade relations.

Both sides agreed to establish a trade and investment working group to conduct professional discussions on issues arising in bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The two sides also agreed to continue dialogue and exchanges under the framework of the upgraded China-EU export control dialogue mechanism, according to the MOFCOM.

Global Times