Beijing (AFP) – China believes on Wednesday that the European Union’s export policy towards its country is “nonsensical” with restrictions on shipments of high-tech products, the foreign ministry said on the eve of a bilateral summit.
First change: December 6th, 2023 – 12:35 p.m. Last change: December 6th, 2023 – 12:33 p.m
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“If the EU, on the one hand, imposes strict restrictions on the export of high-tech products to China and, on the other hand, hopes to significantly increase its exports to China, I think it makes no sense,” said Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.
On Thursday, the president of the European Commission (the bloc’s executive arm), Ursula von der Leyen, will arrive in Beijing for an EU-China summit; the diplomatic chief of the Twenty-Seven, Josep Borrell, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
This is the first in-person summit since 2019 between the leaders of the EU and China, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. One of the main items on the agenda is trade.
Von der Leyen said in an interview with AFP before the summit that “European leaders will not tolerate the trade imbalance in our relations in the long term.”
During a daily ministry briefing on Wednesday, Wang said that “China is a reliable and indispensable partner of the EU.”
“Properly managing differences through dialogue and consultation is important for the development of China-EU relations,” he said.
“We hope that the European side will work with China to accommodate each other, create a positive atmosphere for the success of the China-EU leaders’ meeting, and make joint efforts for the healthy and stable development of China-China relations and the EU,” the spokesman added.
© 2023 AFP