"They reiterated that the United States’ and EU’s respective relations with China are multifaceted and emphasized the importance of the United States and EU maintaining continuous and close contacts on our respective approaches as we invest and grow our economies, cooperate with China where possible, and manage our competition and systemic rivalry with China responsibly," the statement said on Thursday.
The statement was issued after the second high-level meeting of the US-EU Dialogue on China that was held by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and European External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino.
Sherman and Sannino spoke about human rights violations in China and expressed a shared interest in continued cooperation on human rights issues there, the statement said.
"Noting the harmful effects of disinformation on democratic societies, they expressed their readiness to deepen US-EU information sharing on disinformation sponsored or supported by China," the statement said.
The two senior officials also stressed the importance of diversifying and enhancing supply chains, and addressing economic coercion, the statement said.
"They reiterated the importance of close US-EU cooperation to uphold the rules-based international order, including securing a level playing field for all countries," it said. "They also emphasized the importance of protecting intellectual property rights, critical infrastructure, and sensitive technologies, as well as information-sharing on tools to strengthen economic resilience, reduce loopholes and vulnerabilities, and shield against risks, including from non-market practices."
Moreover, the two sides talked about China’s activities in the South and East China Seas and the Taiwan Strait, the statement also said.
"They debriefed on recent US and EU high-level meetings with Chinese government officials, including in support of common goals in Iran and the Korean peninsula, and stressed the importance of results-oriented engagement on key transnational challenges, such as the climate crisis, health security, and trafficking in persons and drugs," it added. "Building on the recent US-China and EU-China statements on climate action, they discussed working with Chinese government counterparts on policy matters such as reducing methane emissions and decarbonization, as well as sharing the results of these meetings."
Sherman and Sannino agreed to continue meetings in this dialogue and are expected to hold the next high-level meeting in mid-2022, according to the statement.