The European Union will expand tools to defend its economy against imbalanced trade with China, the bloc's industry chief told the Financial Times in a report published today.
The comments come ahead of a special meeting of EU commissioners tomorrow, focused on how the 27-nation group should approach China to level the playing field.
China's booming exports have resulted in large trade surpluses with many of Europe's top economies, putting political pressure on the continent's leaders to protect local industries.
Stephane Sejourne told the FT the EU would step up its use of import quotas and tariffs on China to protect certain sectors - including chemicals, metals and clean technology - against unfair competition.
"Our objective is not to break with China but to have a real rebalancing and real measures that allow us to do it," Sejourne said, according to the newspaper.
Responding to the comments, China's foreign ministry accused the EU of "cherry picking" data to justify claims of imbalanced trade.
Such an approach inevitably leads to conclusion of imbalanced trade ties, Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, said at a regular press conference.
The EU is not forced to trade with China, Mao said, warning that China will take all measures necessary to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
