China and the European Union pledged to work more closely to defend the global trading system, although both sides said they were not seeking a coalition to counter Washington. Chinese and European leaders met at the 20th EU-China summit in Beijing just after U.S. President Donald Trump described the EU and China as “foes” of the U.S. on trade and the economy. China and the EU issued a joint statement after the summit, saying they were “strongly” committed to resisting protectionism and unilateralism and “firmly supported” the rules-based multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the point declaration, both parties pledged to cooperate by reducing market access barriers and speeding up talks for a bilateral investment treaty. They also adopted a “Leaders’ Statement on Climate Change and Clean Energy”.

At the previous two summits no joint statement had been issued because of frictions over issues such as China demanding market economy status at the WTO, and EU discontent over its steel overcapacity. “It is a common duty of Europe and China, America and Russia, not to destroy this global order, but to improve it,” said European Council President Donald Tusk. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was also at the summit, hosted by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The European leaders also met Chinese President Xi Jinping who called on Brussels to work with Beijing to uphold global stability.

Premier Li made clear at the joint press briefing that China was not seeking to set up an alliance to counter U.S. tariff pressure, after EU leaders and top advisers earlier repeated that they would not side with China against the U.S. in the trade dispute. “The talks between China and the EU do not target a third party and are not affected by a third party,” he said. “The trade friction between China and the U.S. is a problem between the two countries. China does not want a trade war with the U.S. – there is no winner in a trade war,” Li said. Premier Li Keqiang promised to improve protection of intellectual property rights by doubling the penalties for forced technology transfers. “Those who maliciously violate intellectual property rights will be fined to the point of bankruptcy. This is also to protect the development of Chinese enterprises – without the protection of intellectual property, Chinese enterprises will be unable to develop. That would be harming ourselves,” he said. The EU and China agreed to set up a working group to overhaul the WTO in late June, and issues such as industrial subsidies, mandatory technology transfers and market access barriers are expected to be raised under that framework, the South China Morning Post reports.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said that progress was made on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment through a first exchange of offers on market access, and towards an agreement on Geographical Indications. At the EU-China Business Roundtable in Beijing, Juncker said that he was “more convinced than ever that, in the era of globalization and of interdependence, multilateralism must be at the heart of what we do. We expect all our partners to respect international rules and commitments that they have taken, notably within the framework of the World Trade Organization”.