EU commissioner calls for more balanced trade with China and warns that Ukraine could divide them

abcnews.go.com:

The European Union’s trade commissioner has called for a more balanced relationship with China, noting an EU trade deficit of nearly 400 billion euros ($425 billion)

BEIJING — The European Union's trade commissioner called for a more balanced economic relationship with China on Monday, noting an EU trade deficit of nearly 400 billion euros ($425 billion), while also warning that China's position on the war in Ukraine could endanger its relationship with Europe.

Valdis Dombrovskis, in a speech at China's prestigious Tsinghua University, said that the EU and China face significant political and economic headwinds that could cause them to drift apart.

“The strongest, yet not the only, headwind is Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and how China positions itself on this issue,” he said.

Dombrovskis spoke before high-level economic and trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. EU leaders have expressed concern about the bloc's growing trade deficit with China, which reached 396 billion euros last year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently announced an investigation into Chinese subsidies to electric vehicle makers, saying a flood of cheaper Chinese cars is distorting the European market.

The Chinese government has called the investigation a protectionist act aimed at distorting the supply chain. Dombrovskis, in his Tsinghua address, said the probe would follow well-established rules and be done in consultation with Chinese authorities and stakeholders.

The EU trade commissioner urged China to address the lack of reciprocity in the economic relationship, saying “the figures speak for themselves.”

He said that China has created a more politicized business environment to protect its