The Chinese Government has warned this Saturday the European Union that any new "discriminatory restriction" that Brussels adopts on its commercial exchanges will be answered "firmly".
"If the EU insists on unilaterally introducing new trade instruments and imposing discriminatory restrictions, China will respond firmly and take effective measures to safeguard its own interests," a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson stated this Saturday at a press conference.
The warning comes after the European Commission held internal meetings on Friday focused on trade policy towards China. These contacts did not conclude with concrete decisions, but will serve as a basis for discussions at the upcoming summit of the Group of Seven (G7), which brings together the main industrialized economies, as well as at the EU summit scheduled for mid-June.
Tensions between Beijing and Brussels have intensified over EU tariffs on electric cars from China, mutual investigations into market practices, and Chinese export controls on strategic raw materials.
China "has taken note" of this meeting, according to the spokesperson, and has called for economic and commercial relations between the two partners to "develop in accordance with equality and mutual benefit."
"We hope that the EU will abide by the rules of the World Trade Organization, defend free trade and fair competition, and firmly oppose protectionism and unilateralism," the spokesperson added in a statement published on the Ministry of Commerce website.