China on Wednesday called on the European Union to develop a more objective and rational perception of China and practice a more positive and pragmatic China policy.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing while responding to a media query about European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's recent speech about China-EU relations.
"In her speech, the EU leader spoke highly of China's economic and social development, especially in areas of green development and poverty alleviation. We commend that. I would like to reiterate that China's development creates opportunities, not challenges, to the European Union (EU). China is the world's most important stabilizing force and most predictable source of certainty. We hope that the EU can become a reliable and predictable partner for China as well," Mao said.
"On the EU's concerns on trade, I would like to point out that with such huge trade volume, it is only natural that China and the EU have some differences and frictions in the process of cooperation. Over the past five decades of diplomatic relations, China-EU cooperation has kept growing. Today, the size of China-EU trade per day is as large as that of a whole year when the two sides established diplomatic ties. We hope the EU will view its trade relations with China from an all-round, more objective and positive perspective, rather than amplify differences and not talk about cooperation. What the two sides can and should do is to drive trade upward and forward in a balanced way through two-way opening up, properly manage trade frictions through dialogue and consultation, and avoid letting specific issues take up the whole picture or making every trade issue about security," the spokeswoman said. "The current state of China-EU trade is a result of the combined forces of the macroeconomic environment, international trade conditions and our respective industrial structure. Neither side should be asked to take the entire responsibility for it. The laws of the market should be respected. There should be no forced buying or selling. China is willing to import more quality products from the EU that meet China's market demand. We hope the EU will ease restrictions on high-tech exports to China. The EU's public procurement market is far from being as fair and open as the EU claims. Many hidden barriers do exist. A lot of countries have publicly slammed the EU for being partial to EU companies on large-scale procurement projects," she said.
"China's subsidy policies are fully compliant with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). They are open and transparent. China is not the only country that has subsidies. The EU should not apply double standards on this issue. According to available information, from 2021 to 2030, the EU will provide various subsidies totaling over 1.44 trillion euros. By 2024, over 300 billion euros have been distributed. Overcapacity should not be measured purely by output or export. Otherwise, shouldn't Airbus jets and German automobiles be counted as overcapacity as well?" Mao continued.
"This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic ties. It is an important year of building on past achievements and charting the future direction for the development of the relationship. We hope the EU will form a more objective and rational perception of China, and practice a more positive and pragmatic China policy. We also hope the EU will understand that what needs 'rebalancing' is not the China-EU economic ties, but the EU's mindset. Given the volatilities in today's world, we hope the EU will work with China, enhance the mutually beneficial cooperation, properly settle differences and disputes, and promote the sustained, sound and steady growth of China-EU relations," Mao added.
China urges EU to form more objective, rational perception of China
