The European Union has to bolster trade relations with China along with other states in Asia-Pacific region to be consistent with new reality, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2022) The European Union has to bolster trade relations with China along with other states in Asia-Pacific region to be consistent with new reality, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday.
"It's clear that EU-China relations are increasingly complex, but there is a clear view that engagement with China is essential, so we have to be able to talk to one of our biggest trading partners also about difficult issues," Dombrovskis said during a briefing.
According to Dombrovskis, the EU is looking to shift its bilateral ties, which requires finalizing current deals and making new ones.
"To bolster our bilateral agenda we need to get over the finish line our agreements, which have already been negotiated, like Chili, Mexico or MERCOSUR. These are important deals with large potential for generating mutual benefits. We also need to advance ongoing negotiations for new deals, notably New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and India," Dombrovskis added.
China is the EU's most important trading partner. In 2021, China accounted for 16.2% of total EU trade, with Beijing corresponding to 22.3% of total European imports and 10.3% of exports. In late 2021, the relations between China and the EU deteriorated after Beijing decided to downgrade the bilateral relations with Vilnius over its ties with Taiwan.
