The European Union member states will not tolerate the growing trade imbalance with China forever, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Tuesday before the EU-China summit, UNN reports citing AFP.
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Speaking about the economy, von der Leyen emphasized that Europe is not trying to "disconnect" from the Chinese state, but to "reduce the risk" of ties that have become too one-sided.
"We are witnessing a growing trade imbalance. Over the past two years, the trade imbalance has doubled and has now reached almost 400 billion euros," she said.
"European leaders will not tolerate imbalances in trade relations over time. We have the tools to protect our market," she continued in an interview with ENR.
"But we prefer to find solutions through negotiations. And these are the options that are on the table now, for example, and I think it is in China's favor to also look closely at these options," von der Leyen said.
Addendum
Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, will arrive in Beijing on Thursday for the EU-China summit.
This will be the first summit of the EU leadership with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in person since 2019. It will focus on trade and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the newspaper said.