MOFCOM spokesperson He Yadong Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT

China has invited European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security and Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maros Šefčovič to visit China this autumn to co-chair the second meeting of the newly established China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, He Yadong, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said on Thursday.

On June 29, China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Šefčovič co-chaired the first meeting of the mechanism. The two sides conducted comprehensive, in-depth and constructive discussions on key economic and trade issues, the spokesperson said in response to a question seeking briefing on the first meeting.

During the first meeting, they discussed balanced expansion, rather than balanced contraction, of trade focusing on three areas: expanding cooperation in AI and green transition, exploring services and other areas of cooperation, and addressing each other's concerns in market access and other issues, He said.

He said that China is fully implementing its 15th Five-Year Plan and advancing the building of a trading powerhouse, with a strong commitment to promoting balanced growth in both imports and exports. China is ready to leverage platforms such as the "Export to China" initiative and the China International Import Expo to help EU businesses tap into the Chinese market and expand their exports to China.

The two sides also reached consensus on a new positioning of China-EU economic and trade relations, namely that China and the EU should remain stable and balanced key trading partners. This will help improve the expectations of a wide range of Chinese and EU enterprises and inject greater certainty and positive momentum into economic development in both regions and beyond, the MOFCOM spokesperson said.