Beijing has urged the European Union to tone down its criticism and adopt “less protectionist” policies, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused China of flooding global markets and enabling Russia’s war economy.

Commerce-ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian said at a regular Beijing briefing on Thursday that China hoped the EU would “make fewer accusations and communicate more, be less protectionist, and be more open.”

Her comments follow von der Leyen’s address to the European Parliament on Tuesday, setting the tone for an expected China-EU summit in late July.

The Commission president acknowledged China’s economic rise—lifting 800 million people out of poverty and expanding its output ten-fold in 50 years—but warned that subsidised overcapacity was “choking international competition.”

She also said Beijing’s “unyielding” support for Moscow had made it a de-facto enabler of Russia’s war economy.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, visiting Brussels last week, told the EU’s top diplomat that he hoped the bloc would adopt a “more objective and rational” view of China.

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