China, European leaders agree to seek fairer trade rules

Leaders of China, France, Germany and the European Commission agreed Tuesday to seek fairer global trade rules and create “trust-based partnerships,” reported The Associated Press.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a state visit to France, met in Paris Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Juncker, who will host an E.U.-China summit in Brussels next month, reinforced E.U. calls for better trade reciprocity so that “European businesses could have the same degree of access to the Chinese market as Chinese businesses have in Europe,” reported Reuters.

Recently, the Italian government officially agreed to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, becoming the first European Commission and Group of 7 country to do so. The Belt and Road Initiative aims to link China by sea and land with Southeast and Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, through a