BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Tuesday for China to ensure a negotiated solution to problems caused by the sweeping import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a phone call with China’s Premier Li Qiang, von der Leyen “stressed the responsibility of Europe and China, as two of world’s largest markets, to support a strong reformed trading system, free, fair and founded on a level playing field,” her office said in a statement.
Both politicians discussed setting up a mechanism to track possible trade diversion caused by the tariffs, von der Leyen’s office said, as the EU fears China will redirect cheap exports from the U.S. to Europe.
(This story has been corrected to say that Li Qiang is China’s premier, not prime minister, in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Makini Brice/Sudip Kar-Gupta)
