China and the European Union have held "in-depth and comprehensive" discussions on the establishment of a trade and investment consultation mechanism, signaling a willingness from both Beijing and Brussels to manage differences through equal-footed dialogue, experts said.

A structured consultation framework, they added, will help to prevent spiraling frictions and provide the certainty that businesses on both sides need.

The discussions took place during a Tuesday meeting in Brussels, Belgium, between Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Ling Ji and Ditte Juul Jorgensen, director-general of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to work toward pragmatic outcomes from the first meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, with the aim of stabilizing bilateral economic and trade relations and promoting their sustainable development, according to the statement.

"China and the EU are far more complementary than competitive," said Cui Fan, a professor of international trade at the University of International Business and Economics.

Cui noted that every minute, trade between China and the EU exceeds 10 million yuan ($1.47 million), citing last year's trade data. "The consultation mechanism is an essential step toward properly handling frictions and finding the right way to resolve problems, which serves the interests of business communities on both sides," he added.

Since the beginning of this year, Brussels has broadened its trade defense tool kit, rolling out a series of restrictive measures aimed at Chinese companies and products.

Most recently, its efforts to compel European businesses to diversify their suppliers, under the proposed revision of the EU's Cybersecurity Act, have added yet another layer of investment barriers and institutional discrimination, with China bearing the brunt.

"The EU's increasingly closed internal market is hindering its ability to learn from and absorb cutting-edge technologies, thereby constraining potential pathways for industrial catch-up," said Sun Yawen, an assistant research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies.

The continuous escalation of protectionist measures is unlikely to stimulate innovation among EU companies, trapping the EU in a vicious cycle, Sun added.

Despite the EU's "de-risking" agenda, European companies are doubling down on manufacturing in China, according to a survey by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China last month.

"We are seeing EU companies actively adapting to China's dynamic business environment, as China is not only a market full of opportunities but has also become an indispensable source of innovation for their global operations," said Denis Depoux, global managing director of consultancy company Roland Berger.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn