Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged the European Union to join hands with Beijing in resisting "unilateral bullying".
Xi, who met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing, stressed the need for deeper cooperation between China and the EU amid the growing trade war with Washington.
According to state news agency Xinhua, he said, "China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities... and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices."
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian was quoted as saying by reports on Friday that China does not want to fight trade wars, but is not scared of them.
"Tariff and trade wars have no winners. China does not want to fight these wars but is not scared of them," Lin said, according to the Global Times.
"If the US truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue, it must stop applying extreme pressure and acting recklessly. These tactics do not work on China. Any dialogue must be based on equality, mutual respect, and reciprocity. If the US insists on continuing a tariff and trade war, China's response will continue to the end."
The report further quoted Lin as saying that China is a responsible country.
"Our countermeasures against US bullying are not only about safeguarding China's legitimate rights and interests, but also about defending international rules and order, safeguarding the common interests of all countries as well as global fairness and justice," Lin said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that the reduction of US tariffs on the EU to 10 percent was a "fragile pause", and Europe must therefore "mobilise all available levers to protect itself".
“The partial suspension of American tariffs for 90 days sends out a signal and leaves the door open for talks. But this pause is a fragile one,” Macron wrote on X on Friday, according to The Guardian.
“Fragile, because the 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles and the 10% tariffs on all other products are still in place,” he added.