China envoy warns EU against 'restrictive' trade actions

China will defend its interests against any "restrictive" trade measures taken by the European Union, Beijing's ambassador to the bloc said Wednesday, as he urged tackling trade frictions through dialogue.

The European Union has stepped up warnings that the 27-country bloc's trade imbalances with China are not sustainable, with leaders last week calling for beefing up the bloc's trade tools alongside dialogue with Beijing.

China's head of the mission to the EU, Cai Run, echoed the push for greater cooperation, days before Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao comes to Brussels on Monday.

"The two sides are partners, not rivals, and certainly not enemies," Cai told an event in Brussels, saying the EU and China were "fully capable of addressing economic and trade differences and frictions through dialogue".

But he also warned: "We oppose politicising economic and trade issues, and overstretching the concept of security," saying China opposed "restrictive... measures against China under the name of de-risking and reducing dependency".

"Should the EU side insist on... such measures, China will have to take counterpart measures to formally defend its legitimate interest," Cai said.

The EU's trade deficit in goods hit around 360 billion euros ($408 billion) last year, meaning it imported much more from China than it exported there.

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Kaynak: AFP