China Says "Not Afraid" Of US Tariffs, Calls On EU To Resist "Bullying"

China on Friday called on the European Union to join hands to resist "unilateral bullying" by the United States, referring to the mammoth 145 per cent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on imported Chinese goods and the suspended 20 per cent on goods from the bloc.

The appeal was made by President Xi Jinping as he met his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, in Beijing. State-run news agency Xinhua said Mr Xi also warned the EU it needed to cooperate with China so the two can ride out the mounting trade war with Washington, D.C.

"China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities... and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices," Mr Xi said, stressing this would not only "safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also... safeguard international fairness and justice."

The Spanish Prime Minister - whose nation buys about $50 billion of goods from China every year - said tensions over trade should not impede EU's cooperation with Beijing.

"Spain and Europe have a significant trade deficit with China..." he admitted, "But we must not let trade tensions stand in the way of the potential growth of our relationships."

In a separate statement - underling Beijing's increasingly aggressive stance towards Trump's tariffs - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said "trade wars have no winners".

"China does not want to fight these wars... but it is not scared. If the US truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue (then) it must stop applying extreme pressure and acting recklessly. These tactics do not work on China..." the spokesperson said, serving yet another warning to Trump, "If the US insists on a tariff and trade war, China's response will continue to the end."