Chinese president Xi Jinping has called on the EU to join China in opposing “unilateral bullying”, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“China and Europe should shoulder their international responsibilities (…) and jointly oppose unilateral bullying practices,” Xi said on Friday. This would not only “safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also (…) safeguard international fairness and justice”.

Although the statement does not mention Donald Trump by name, it can only be read as a rebuke to his aggressive trade policies. On Wednesday, the US president introduced a 90-day pause on most import tariffs, including those on the EU.

However, he maintained tariffs on China: Chinese products currently face a 145 per cent import tariff in the US. The trade war continues to escalate, as the Chinese government announced on Friday that it would raise tariffs on US goods to 125 per cent.

Europe and China also have a complicated history on trade. Last year, the EU raised tariffs on Chinese electric cars, arguing that state subsidies gave Chinese carmakers an unfair advantage. China retaliated by launching anti-dumping investigations into EU exports such as dairy and pork.

But the EU and China may be more willing to compromise now that they are both affected by US tariffs. On Thursday, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed that negotiations had begun on setting minimum prices for Chinese-made electric cars. 

“We must not let trade tensions stand in the way of the potential growth of relations between China and Spain and between China and the EU,” Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said before a meeting with Xi in Beijing on Friday.