Ling Ji, Chinese vice commerce minister and deputy China international trade representative, meets with Markus J. Beyrer, director general of BusinessEurope, on December 6, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce

China and Europe have deeply integrated industrial and supply chains, and there are broad prospects for economic and trade cooperation, Ling Ji, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister and Deputy China International Trade Representative, said on Friday. 

The remarks were made during a meeting in Beijing on Friday between Ling and Markus J. Beyrer, director general of BusinessEurope, a lobby group representing European companies.

China will unswervingly expand high-level opening-up to the outside world and provide foreign-invested enterprises, including European ones, with a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized first-class business environment, Ling said.

It is hoped that BusinessEurope will play an active role in encouraging more European companies to invest in China, as well as aiding the healthy and stable development of China-EU economic and trade relations, Ling also noted.

Beyrer said China-EU economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial and full of opportunities. 

BusinessEurope has always regarded the Chinese business community as its most important partner and will continue to serve as a bridge for communication, supporting enterprises from both sides to carry out more pragmatic cooperation, Beyrer added.

The visit by the head of BusinessEurope to China is a reflection of the expectations from the bloc's business community about maintaining strong ties with China, their major overseas market, and their unwillingness to "decouple" from China despite the views of some European politicians, Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Friday.

The EU's economy relies heavily on trade, possibly even more than China. Therefore, maintaining strong economic and trade ties between China and the EU is vital for Europe as well, Wang said.

The comments came as China-EU ties have come under pressure due to Brussels' recent decision to impose additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The move sparked strong opposition among many European officials and businesses, as well as from China.

The European Commission should heed the concerns of the business community, particularly from within the bloc, given the deep integration of China-EU industrial and supply chains, Wang said. Strengthening cooperation with Chinese counterparts could help European companies enhance their technological and production capabilities, ultimately providing them with a stronger competitive edge in the Chinese market, Wang added.