China and the European Union have a stable "symbiotic" economic relationship, and Beijing hopes the bloc can become a "reliable cooperative partner". President Xi Jinping told European Council President Antony Costa, Reuters reported. As long as China and Europe respect each other, treat each other as equals and engage in sincere dialogue, they can "progress in cooperation and achieve great things," Xi said in a telephone conversation with Costa on state broadcaster CCTV. Xi's remarks come as the world's second-largest economy braces for a looming U.S. tariff hike on Chinese products when Donald Trump returns to the White House later this month and faces heightened trade tensions with the EU. China and the United States have traded measures to restrict each other's exports of technology and critical materials, while the EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The EU and China are important trading partners. "Our relationship should be balanced and based on equal terms," Costa wrote on X after what he called a "constructive" conversation with Xi.
China and Europe should strengthen strategic communication and mutual trust as the international situation becomes increasingly difficult and complex, Xi said.
The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries is complementary and mutually beneficial, and they should create new points for expanding cooperation, Xi said.
The Biden administration said earlier this week that it would further restrict exports of chips and artificial intelligence technologies, maintaining a blockade on exports to countries including China.
China's Ministry of Commerce and the Semiconductor Industry Association criticized the new US regulations, with the association calling on the global tech industry to resist "technological hegemony" on Tuesday. of the Biden administration.
Costa also called on China to contribute to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, an EU official said.