China calls on EU to become trustworthy partner

Beijing called on Brussels to become a "trustworthy and predictable" partner by adopting a more objective and positive mindset over bilateral relations, ahead of a highly anticipated China-European Union leaders' meeting.

"China is the world's most important force for stability and the most predictable factor for certainty," China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

"We hope the EU will become China's cooperative partner, which is trustworthy and predictable," Mao said at a regular news conference, commenting on a recent speech made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Addressing the European Parliament on Tuesday, von der Leyen said the EU needs to rebalance and de-risk economic relations with China while cooperating with China to address climate change.

In response, Mao acknowledged von der Leyen's positive remarks about China's green development and poverty alleviation efforts, and reiterated that China's development is an opportunity, instead of a challenge, for the EU.

Speaking of the EU's trade concerns, Mao urged the bloc to "view bilateral trade relations with a more comprehensive, objective and positive attitude".

Given the "huge trade volume" between China and the EU, it's inevitable that differences and frictions occur during the cooperation, Mao said. "(The EU) shouldn't exaggerate differences without talking about cooperation," she said.

Mao called for adopting a "two-way opening-up" to promote the development of bilateral trade relations, handling trade frictions through talks, and avoiding an overstretch of the concept of security.

China and the EU were each other's second-largest trading partners in 2024, when they recorded bilateral trade volume of more than $785 billion, statistics from China's Foreign Ministry show.

China stands ready to import more high-quality goods from the EU that meet China's market demand, and hopes the EU will loosen its restrictions on high-tech exports to China, the spokeswoman said.

Also, "the EU's public procurement market is far from being as fair and open as the EU claims. There are quite some hidden barriers," Mao said.

"Many countries have also criticized the EU in public for favoring European companies in large procurement projects," she said.

Speaking of China's subsidy policies, Mao said they are in line with the rules of the World Trade Organization, and are open and transparent.

"Subsidies are not something that only China has. The EU shouldn't adopt double standards on this issue," she said, adding the EU is expected to provide more than 1.44 trillion euros ($1.69 trillion) in subsidies of various kinds from 2021 to 2030.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a trip last week to the EU headquarters, Germany and France.

During his talks in Brussels with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Wang said leaders of China and the EU will soon meet, and that China is ready to work with the EU to ensure the meeting yields positive outcomes.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn