China urged the European Union on Wednesday to “rebalance its mentality, not trade,” after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to narrow the bloc’s economic gap with Beijing. Foreign-ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing that Brussels should adopt a “more objective and rational” view of China and drop what she described as protectionist restrictions on high-technology exports. Von der Leyen said a day earlier that the EU would seek fairer market access and relief from export curbs on rare-earth minerals, pointing to what she called the largest trade surplus in history. The EU’s goods deficit with China reached about US$357 billion in 2024, and European officials have flagged measures to curb overcapacity and subsidised imports from Chinese industries such as electric vehicles. Mao countered that Europe’s own policies distort competition, noting that EU governments plan to dispense roughly €1.44 trillion in subsidies between 2021 and 2030, with more than €300 billion already allocated. She said the bloc’s public-procurement market remains “far from fair and open,” and urged Brussels to lift controls on advanced technology sales to China while Beijing stands ready to import more EU goods that meet domestic demand. The exchange comes ahead of a China-EU summit later this month marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Beijing said it is prepared to manage disputes through dialogue and wants the EU to “work in the same direction” to keep bilateral ties on a stable footing amid wider geopolitical volatility.