BEIJING — Vice-Premier Liu He met with European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen in Beijing on July 16, vowing to work with the European Union (EU) to firmly safeguard free trade rules and multilateral trading.

“Given the severe damage caused by unilateralism and trade bullying, China stands ready to work with the EU to firmly safeguard free trade rules and the multilateral trade system, and improve the World Trade Organization to keep pace with the times,” he said.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on both sides to implement consensus reached during the China-EU leaders’ meeting and China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, to benefit the people and enterprises from both sides.

Katainen told Liu that the EU and China shared similar concerns about trade issues, pledging to strengthen communication and coordination with China to advance reform of the WTO and safeguard multilateral trading.