According to an EU official, the EU has decided not to hold the EU-China High Level Economic and Trade dialogue due to lack of progress in preparatory consultations. Commenting on the reports, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Spokesperson He Yadong said at a press conference that China and the EU are each other's major trading partners, and China attaches great importance to China-EU economic and trade relations, and has maintained close communication with the EU at all levels to promote the sound and stable development of bilateral trade and investment cooperation.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, the MOFCOM spokesperson said, noting that China will work with the EU to fully implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both sides, actively promote the upgrading of China-EU economic and trade cooperation, address each other's concerns, and jointly prepare economic and trade deliverables for high-level exchanges. Trade issues are of vital importance to both China and the EU, and have long been a matter of mutual concern, and for trade disputes to be resolved, it is important to meet each other halfway, a Chinese expert said. “A stable China-EU economic and trade relationship plays a key role in anchoring market expectations, which is crucial for both sides. In this context, it is essential for China and the EU to move toward each other and work to build effective consensus," Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times.
At a Chinese Foreign Ministry press conference, a reporter referred to a Financial Times report claiming that the EU had canceled the EU-China high-level economic dialogue because of a lack of progress with China on trade issues. Asked to comment on the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in an increasingly volatile world with rising unilateralism and economic bullying, greater strategic communication and further dialogue and cooperation between China and the EU benefit both sides and the rest of the world. Guo added that the two sides have maintained communication on trade and other issues.
When asked to comment on the European Commission President's criticism toward China at the G7 summit, including comments on trade rules, industry subsidies, dominance in rare earths, and so-called overcapacity, a spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) said: “We have noticed relevant reports and expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the claims, which ignore the facts and are filled with prejudice and double standards.” The so-called overcapacity issue is essentially a result of certain countries' concerns over their own competitiveness and market share, and the aim is to use this as an excuse to pursue protectionist measures, the spokesperson said, adding that what is excessive is not capacity, but anxiety, the Global Times reports.
