China has the tools to weather Trump storm, Premier Li tells EU’s von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen raised grievances with Li Qiang and emphasised their shared responsibility in supporting a strong trading system
“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 told von der Leyen, according to a Chinese readout of the call.
It was the pair’s first call since the German official started her second term in office in December. It was also the first high-level interaction between the sides since Trump unleashed a global trade war with universal tariffs, to which China retaliated forcefully and to which the EU is calibrating a response.
“China has considered various uncertain factors in its macro policy this year and has enough policy tools in reserve and is fully capable to counter external shocks,” Li told von der Leyen, in comments that suggested Beijing would not back down, despite Trump’s threat to add a further 50 per cent tariff to Chinese goods.
According to a readout of the call from Brussels the pair agreed to host an EU-China summit in July, though it was not clear whether Chinese President Xi Jinping would attend.