BRUSSELS — China and the European Union (EU) reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to multilateralism and opposition to protectionism on April 9.

Premier Li Keqiang, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker met in Brussels on April 9 for the 21st China-EU leaders’ meeting and issued the statement.

The two sides reiterated their respect for international law and for fundamental norms governing international relations, with the United Nations (UN) at the core.

They commit to upholding the UN Charter and international law, and all three pillars of the UN system, namely peace and security, development and human rights, according to the joint statement.

China and the EU firmly support the rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, fight against unilateralism and protectionism, and commit to complying with WTO rules, it says.

The two sides reaffirmed their joint commitment to cooperation on WTO reform to ensure its continued relevance and allow it to address global trade challenges. They agreed to intensify discussions on strengthening international rules on industrial subsidies, and continue working to resolve the crisis in the WTO Appellate Body.

They also underlined their support to the G20 in continuing to play its active role as the premier forum in international economic and financial cooperation, and agreed to promote the G20, in the spirit of partnership and the principle of consensus, to make more contributions to upholding multilateralism, improving global economic governance and boosting global economic growth.