BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the root cause of the EU's problems on trade and economy does not lie with China, and instead, China can be a partner for the EU in addressing the problems.
Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a daily media briefing when asked to comment on remarks by EU member states' leaders on China.
It's reported that on July 17, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz expressed their concerns over China-EU trade imbalances, industrial subsidies, and RMB exchange rate when they met the press. In the meantime, they insisted that neither France nor Germany were anti-China and they were not seeking to decouple from China. They both recognized China's remarkable achievements in innovation, and expressed their willingness to engage with China in an open dialogue on relevant matters and the need for China to transfer technologies and create jobs in Europe.
Lin said that on issues relating to China-EU economic and trade ties, China has made its position clear more than once, adding that China attaches high importance to the economic and trade differences between China and the EU, and believes that both sides can properly handle those differences through dialogue, consultation and policy interaction.
"Those differences should not be an obstacle to China-EU mutual trust and cooperation, the pretext to decouple and sever supply chains, and still less be used as an excuse for making groundless accusations against China," Lin noted.
He said under the WTO framework, international trade is a two-way street and there is no forced trade. "The China-EU economic and trade relations are win-win in nature. China never seeks a trade surplus with Europe. The China-EU trade structure is shaped by international division of labor, competitive advantages and many other factors," Lin noted, adding that China always abides by the WTO rules and basic norms of market economy including free trade, fair competition, and open cooperation. There are no such things as WTO prohibited subsidies in China, he said.
He stressed that China's industrial competitiveness comes from the combined advantages of its complete industrial system, super-sized market, and sound innovation ecosystem. The competitiveness is also driven by the Chinese companies' strenuous efforts and long-term dedication.
"China is a responsible major country. We have never manipulated currency rate, and will not undervalue our currency to gain a competitive edge, still less will use currency rate as a tool to shield us from external disruptions including trade disputes," said Lin.
Protectionism leads no way out, and win-win cooperation is the right way forward, he said. "We notice that many European companies have recently said that decoupling won't work and called for more cooperation with China. In the recent first meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Consultations, the two sides had a comprehensive, in-depth and constructive discussion on important issues concerning China-EU trade and economy, and achieved new progress," Lin noted.
It is hoped that both France and Germany can act with a rational and practical attitude as core EU member states, play a positive and constructive role, help the EU go along the same direction with China, and address each other's concerns through dialogue and negotiation so as to open up a new prospect of upward balance and sustainable development of China-EU trade, said the spokesperson. ■
