China urges UK and EU to uphold multilateral trade in face of US tariffs

Beijing: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday urged Britain and the European Union to safeguard multilateral trading systems, as Beijing seeks to rally support from trading partners to counter US tariff measures.

Wang told British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in a phone call that China and Britain had a responsibility to uphold international order in the face of "rampant unilateral bullying", according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

China is ready to work with Britain to "eliminate all distractions", Wang said, adding that the onus was on both countries to safeguard multilateral trading systems.

In a separate phone call with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Wang similarly said China and the EU should shoulder international responsibility to defend multilateral trade and build an open world economy.

He also said China was willing to further strengthen high-level exchanges with the EU.