The Chinese government warned the European Union this Saturday that any new “discriminatory restriction” that Brussels decides to apply on the bilateral trade relationship will be met “firmly.”
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“If the EU insists on unilaterally introducing new trade instruments and imposing discriminatory restrictions, China will respond firmly and take effective measures to safeguard its own interests,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce at a press conference this Saturday.
The warning comes after the European Commission held internal talks on trade policy related to China on Friday. The meeting did not result in any decision and simply served as a basis for discussions at the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, the leading industrialized nations, and the EU summit in mid-June.
Relations between the two parties are tense due to the EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, reciprocal investigations into market practices, and Chinese export controls on key raw materials.
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China “has taken note” of this meeting, according to the spokesperson, and requested that the economic and trade relations between the two partners “develop based on equality and mutual benefit.”
“We hope the EU abides by the rules of the World Trade Organization, defends free trade and fair competition, and firmly opposes protectionism and unilateralism,” the spokesperson added in a statement published on the Ministry of Commerce’s website.
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