On December 18, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference.

A journalist from Deutsche Presse-Agentur asked: French President Macron, in an article published in the Financial Times, stated that during his previous visit to China, he also emphasized that either China should rebalance its economic relations with the EU, or the EU would have to take protectionist measures. What is the comment from the Ministry of Commerce on this?

Hu Yading, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that we have noted the relevant statements. The essence of Sino-EU economic and trade relations is complementary advantages and mutual benefit. Sino-EU economic and trade cooperation is the result of a combination of various factors such as the development stage of both sides' economies, differences in industrial structures, and changes in market demand.

China has noted that the EU has been increasing its restrictions on trade with China recently. This year, the EU has launched 12 trade remedy investigations and 3 foreign subsidy investigations against China, and has blocked several Chinese companies from participating in public procurement and greenfield investments in EU member states.

We hope that the EU will work with China to abide by the important consensus reached at the meetings between Chinese and European leaders, jointly oppose protectionism, maintain market openness, exercise restraint and prudence in using restrictive trade tools, and provide Chinese enterprises with a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, and predictable business environment when conducting trade and investment cooperation in Europe.

Previously, on December 16, local time, French President Macron published an article titled "We Urgently Need to Rebalance Sino-EU Relations" in the Financial Times. He believed that the EU must open up to China and accept investments from China in its leading fields, but these investments must help Europe "create jobs, promote innovation, and share technology."

Macron pointed out that in the first 11 months of this year, China's trade surplus with the world exceeded $100 billion for the first time, with a trade surplus of 300 billion euros with the EU, almost doubling over the past decade. In his article, he exaggerated so-called "Sino-EU trade imbalance," claiming that a large amount of Chinese export goods are flooding into Europe, which is "unsustainable" for both Sino-EU sides.

However, Macron acknowledged that imposing tariffs and setting quotas on Chinese goods is an approach that is not conducive to cooperation, "We must admit that these imbalances stem from the EU's weak productivity and China's export-oriented policies."

He also claimed that the EU can no longer remain naive and needs to build a credible protection strategy and countermeasures, "We have a full set of trade protection tools, including tariffs and anti-coercion measures, and no one should doubt our determination to use these tools."

He mentioned that during his recent visit to China, he had stated that Europe hopes to rebalance its economic relations through cooperation, promoting the establishment of a "true partnership" between China, the United States, and the EU, otherwise the EU would have no choice but to take more "protectionist" measures. He said, "I prefer cooperation, but if necessary, I will advocate for the latter option."

In recent times, EU leaders have frequently highlighted the issue of the Sino-EU trade deficit, urging China to increase investment in Europe. However, data shows that since 2022, the EU's trade deficit with China has generally declined, and it fell by 27% in 2023.

Chinese Ambassador to Italy Jia Guode recently stated that the current EU trade deficit with China is the result of a combination of factors such as the macroeconomic environment, industrial structure, changes in demand, and international trade conditions between China and the EU, and the EU has maintained a long-term service trade surplus with China.

Macron has made his fourth state visit to China from December 3 to 5. During the visit, China and France issued joint statements on strengthening global governance, cooperating to address global climate and environmental challenges, continuing to promote peaceful use of nuclear energy, agricultural and food exchanges and cooperation, the situation in Ukraine, and the situation in Palestine.

Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the current international situation is complex and turbulent. China is willing to work with France to take this visit as an opportunity, carry forward the spirit of Sino-French diplomatic relations, strengthen strategic communication, deepen practical cooperation, and enhance multilateral coordination, and promote the Sino-French comprehensive strategic partnership to achieve new progress, and make greater contributions to promoting the healthy and stable development of Sino-EU relations, maintaining multilateralism, and the peace, stability, and prosperity of the world.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7585131980191269426/

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