China pressures EU for anti-US trade alliance

Brussels is under pressure from China to form an alliance against US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies, according to European officials.

A delegation of senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He and the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, want the European Union to agree to a joint statement in exchange for more European access to the country’s market.

One proposal involves joint action by the two economic blocs at the World Trade Organisation.

Both China and the EU have been the targeted by US trade tariffs imposed by President Trump in what has become a bitty, tit-for-tat trade conflict.

Talks on potential cooperation are expected to take place at the Sino-European summit in Beijing on 16 and 17 July but it is understood that European officials have already rejected the idea of aligning themselves with the Asian gin over the issue.

An unnamed European diplomat told Reuters: "China wants the European Union to stand with Beijing against Washington, to take sides. We won't do it and we have told them that."

In an effort to entice the EU into cooperation, China is likely to reveal which sectors of its market it would be willing to open to European investment at the upcoming summit, which President Xi Jinping, China's Premier Li Keqiang and top EU officials are expected to attend.

The last two annual summits between the parties ended without joint statements due to disputes over trade and China’s activities in the South China Sea.