The European Council president met Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the margins of a Southeast Asian summit in Laos as Beijing and the European Union impose tit-for-tat penalties on each other's imports in a row about subsidies and protectionism.
Michel said in an interview with AFP that after his "frank and candid" talks with Li, he hoped a deal could be struck in the coming days or weeks -- but he warned that getting there would be tough.
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"We count on China to adapt its behaviour and to understand that we have to rebalance the economic relationships for more fairness, for fair competition, for a more level playing field."
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A furious Beijing has responded with new tariffs on EU-made brandy, alarming French producers, while Brussels is also investigating Chinese subsidies for solar panels and wind turbines.
China is also tangled in a bitter, wide-ranging trade dispute with the United States, with Washington announcing sharp tariff hikes targeting $18 billion of Chinese goods including electric vehicles, EV batteries and solar cells.
Beijing reacted angrily to Michel's remarks Friday, condemning what it called the EU's "lose-lose" approach to the dispute.
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With the global economy rattled by conflict in Ukraine and fresh turmoil in the Middle East, Michel said it was better for all to avoid a trade war.
But he insisted the EU would no longer be "naive" about massive government subsidies, though he offered some hope the two sides would find a way out of the row.
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Blatent hypocrisy of China. They do not allow the same access to their domestic markets that they demand from every other country.
They expect the world to open their wallets to them while they spit in their faces by supporting Russia's imperialistic war in Ukraine, prop up North Korea, ignore international law and try to claim land that clearly isn't theirs, lied to the world about COVID, and are actively building for war with Taiwan. Chinese behavior is showing they should not be placated and given free access to markets.
It's a shame because Chinese people are smart and hard working. Just sucks their country is so misguided.