China warns EU’s economic image ‘at stake’ after new trade curbs

BEIJING  —China on Thursday warned the European Union’s economic image was “at stake” after the bloc unveiled new measures to protect sensitive technology from falling into the hands of geopolitical rivals.

“The EU’s image in the fields of economics and international trade is at stake,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, urging the EU against “taking anti-globalization” steps.

Brussels has bolstered its armory of trade restrictions to tackle what it deems to be risks to European economic security, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and global trade tensions.

READ: EU to ramp up efforts to shield sensitive assets from China

And on Wednesday, EU officials outlined an economic security package containing five initiatives, including toughening rules on the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI) and launching discussions on coordination in the area of export controls.

Asked about the new rules Thursday, Wang warned “the international community has been very concerned about the EU’s protectionist unilateralism in the economic and trade spheres”.

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“Current trends will only intensify these concerns,” he said.

“We hope that the EU will respect free trade, free competition and open cooperation, which are the fundamental norms of the market economy,” Wang said.