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Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, saying that China is ready to work with the European side to promote the sound and steady development of China-EU relations, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Li said that China-EU relations are showing a momentum of steady growth. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the EU, and the development of bilateral relations faces important opportunities, he said.

Li noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with European Council President Antonio Costa at the beginning of this year, which sets the tone and charts the course for deepening China-EU relations, Xinhua reported. 

Li pledged China's willingness to work with the EU to maintain sound and smooth high-level exchanges, enhance political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, and resolve each other's concerns through dialogue and consultation.

Li pointed out that the US has recently announced indiscriminate tariffs on all its trading partners, including China and the EU, under various pretexts, which is a typical case of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying.

The resolute measures taken by China are not only to safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests but also to defend international trade rules and international fairness and justice, Li said, noting that all human beings live in the same global village and no country can thrive in isolation.

Protectionism leads nowhere, and only openness and cooperation represent the right path for mankind, Li added.

China and the EU, as strong advocates of economic globalization and trade liberalization, as well as staunch defenders and supporters of the World Trade Organization (WTO), should enhance communication and coordination, expand mutual openness, jointly safeguard free and open trade and investment, and maintain the stable and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains, so as to inject more stability and certainty into both sides and the world economy, Li said.

Noting that the EU always attaches great importance to its relations with China, von der Leyen said it is crucial for EU-China relations to maintain continuity and stability under current circumstances.

She noted that the tariffs imposed by the United States have severely impacted international trade, causing a serious impact on Europe, China and vulnerable countries.

The EU and China are committed to upholding the fair and free multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core and safeguarding the sound and steady development of global economic and trade relations, which serves the common interests of both sides and the world at large, von der Leyen said, according to Xinhua.

In addition to the phone conversation, several leaders and officials from European countries have embarked on or are scheduled to visit China this week. The frequent high-level interactions between China and Europe against the backdrop of rising protectionism and geopolitical uncertainties caused by US tariff policies show that Europe is seeking more opportunities in face of the tariff risks, experts said, noting that the two sides should increase dialogue in pragmatic ways and properly handle trade divergences. 

Frequent interactions 

At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit China from April 10 to 11, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

In response to a media inquiry about how China views the frequent high-level exchanges between the two countries - this being Prime Minister Sánchez's second visit to China in less than a year - Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian noted that it will actually be Sánchez's third visit to China in three years.

During the visit, President Xi Jinping will meet with Prime Minister Sánchez and Premier Li Qiang will hold talks with him, Lin said.

The spokesperson emphasized that Spain is an important cooperative partner for China within the EU. "The two sides have always adhered to the principles of mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual benefit. Our bilateral relations are at the forefront of China's ties with European countries."

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership. Lin said that China hopes to take this visit as an opportunity to deepen strategic mutual trust between the two sides, expand open cooperation, jointly address global challenges, and achieve new progress for the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership from a new starting point.

Sánchez will not be the only European officials to visit China this week. Scottish Business Minister Richard Lochhead has begun a visit to China and Japan aimed at deepening economic, social and cultural ties and emphasizing that Scotland is open for business, according to an official announcement on Tuesday. 

"In an increasingly volatile global economy, it is even more important that we help Scottish companies access new markets and deepen existing trading relationships," Lochhead was quoted as saying in the official announcement of the Scottish government. 

Also, some senior Chinese officials met with visiting Finnish parliament speaker Jussi Halla-aho on Monday, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, held talks with Halla-aho in Beijing on Monday, calling for the joint creation of a favorable and stable legal environment for practical cooperation, Xinhua reported. 

During a meeting between China's top political advisor Wang Huning and Halla-aho on Monday, Halla-aho said that China is one of the most dynamic major economies in the world, and that Finland is willing to enhance cooperation with China to boost bilateral relations and Europe-China relations, according to Xinhua. 

In the past few weeks, several other European officials visited China, including Italy's Senate President Ignazio La Russa, Portugal's Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic.

Europe has long been a highly open economy that emphasizes multilateralism and international rules. However, the approach by the current US administration  is undermining this established order, Wang Yiwei, director of Center for European Union Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"The US not only demands increased military spending from Europe but also imposes tariffs, placing Europe in a passive and pressured position in its relationship with the US. No matter how Europe tries to appease Washington, the US seems to become increasingly aggressive in its demands," Wang said. 

From the recently concluded China's national two sessions to the China Development Forum, the world has witnessed a new wave of vitality coming from China, Wang noted. 

"With its massive market scale, rich application scenarios and the rise of new quality productive forces, especially artificial intelligence driven by large language models, China is injecting confidence into the global economy and offering Europe fresh opportunities for cooperation," he added. 

However, some policymakers within the EU are still debating about economic challenges with China, despite the trade faceoff with the US. 

At talks designed to chart a path forward between the two superpowers on Monday, ministers from EU member states urged action to protect businesses from Chinese industrial overcapacity, amid fears that their economies could be pummeled on two fronts, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported

Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Michal Baranowski, who chaired the latest talks on trade frictions in Brussels, said "the fact that we have real challenges with our partners, allies from United States, doesn't mean that the challenges and problems in our economic relationship with China go away," the SCMP reported. 

Pragmatic attitude needed

There are still "old issues" that remain unsolved as well as emerging new frictions between China and the EU, and it is crucial to address these differences and problems through rational dialogue within the bilateral framework, rather than escalating them into mutual pressure on multilateral platforms, Wang noted. 

Therefore, China and European countries can focus on bilateral efforts to promote specific, practical cooperation projects, reducing the constraints posed by the slow decision-making and divided positions within EU institutions, Wang said. 

"I believe that recent efforts by the EU and some European countries to strengthen engagement with China are a positive sign," Dong Yifan, an associate research fellow at the Belt and Road Academy of Beijing Language and Culture University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

Such engagement helps promote policy communication and coordination between China and Europe. Through deeper dialogue, both sides can effectively steer bilateral relations toward greater cooperation and work together to tackle common global challenges, Dong noted. 

These developments signal a growing rationality within Europe, Dong noted. "More countries are beginning to recognize the importance of breaking free from ideological constraints and pursuing realistic, mutually beneficial partnerships," he said. 

This pragmatic attitude is injecting fresh momentum into China-Europe relations and laying a solid foundation for deeper cooperation in the future, Dong added.