China's commerce minister issued a veiled warning to Europe's high-end footwear manufacturers on Friday as he sought to convince Brussels to reverse contentious anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese imports.
The comments from Chen Denming added some tension to a two-day EU-China trade meeting in Brussels that both sides sought to portray as a success.
“In these difficult times China is under great pressure to protect its industry from high-end footwear imports from Europe,” Mr Chen said. “The EU should respond positively to our common goal of free and fair trade by immediately announcing the end of the anti-dumping measures on footwear.”