EU protectionist measures seriously undermine Chinese firms' confidence in cooperation: official

BEIJING - The European Union (EU) has recently rolled out a series of protectionist measures against China, seriously undermining Chinese companies' confidence in cooperation with the bloc, a Chinese commerce official said Tuesday.

China-EU cooperation is enormous in scale, and differences and frictions are inevitable, said Lin Weilong, head of the policy research department of China's Ministry of Commerce, at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office.

Such differences, however, should not be used as a justification for making groundless accusations, still less as a pretext for imposing restrictions, exerting pressure or undermining practical cooperation, Lin said.

China stands ready to work with the EU to properly handle differences and frictions through dialogue and consultation, Lin added.