President Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang are meeting European Council president Donald Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Beijing.
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Earlier in the day, the 18th EU-China Summit kicked off in the Chinese capital of Beijing.
EUROPEAN UNION trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said yesterday that China must open its markets to European imports before free trade talks can start.
“This suits EU-China cooperation, and also suits China’s interests”, Li said. The EU, which is China’s largest trading partner, says this is to enable fair competition between Chinese and European companies.
Malmstrom said people ask why can Chinese firms make high-profile purchases of European companies, including tire manufacturer Pirelli and Volvo Car Corp., “when European investors face major barriers, including equity gaps, forced technology transfer or licensing restrictions” in various sectors in China.
“As in every mature partnership we may sometimes have differences of opinion”.
“I stress the importance for the European Union of the freedom of the press, the freedom of expression, association and assembly, including for minorities”, he said.
“Keeping the European Union market open is a benefit for us and for China but it requires us to address these questions of reciprocal openness”, the trade commissioner said.
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China says human rights are its domestic affair and other countries should refrain from offering opinions on the matter.
