The European Union on Wednesday unveiled its "technological sovereignty" package, which includes the Cloud and Artificial Intelligence Development Act and Chips Act 2.0. The initiative seeks to bolster Europe's technological independence by reducing reliance on foreign technology.

The chips act favors "European-made" chips and seeks to create a closed digital ecosystem, which could fragment global supply chains. The Computer and Communications Industry Association's Senior Vice-President and Head of Office Daniel Friedlaender called the cloud and AI development act "a direct recipe for fragmented discrimination across Europe in 27 different ways".

The new law would be "effectively giving national capitals carte blanche to shut out trusted global vendors from every major technology-producing nation outside the union", he warned.

The EU's focus on "technological sovereignty" reflects a trend of some EU nations moving away from free, open and fair trade toward protectionism. It will unavoidably affect relevant Chinese entities.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning noted in response to questions regarding the EU's latest move in a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, the essence of China-EU economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

She added that economic and trade issues should be properly resolved through dialogue and communication. Mao expressed the hope that the EU will uphold the fundamental principles of a market economy, including free trade, fair competition and open cooperation, refrain from adopting protectionist measures and remain committed to settling differences through dialogue and consultation.

The EU has in recent years introduced a series of measures as part of its "de-risking" strategy targeting China. Rejecting high-quality products and services from Chinese companies will not only result in financial losses for European countries, but also impede their own technological progress and economic growth.

Reportedly, the EU will leverage the G7 and EU summer summits to introduce new trade restriction instruments targeting China this month.

EU policymakers should understand that protectionism is not a solution to the problems that the EU is now facing, and open cooperation benefits both sides. This is because the economic and trade relations between China and the EU are deeply integrated and complementary. Disrupting these links would harm the interests of enterprises and consumers from both sides.

The latest survey report from the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China shows that a majority of the EU companies surveyed have chosen to maintain or expand their operations in China, while nearly one-third plan to further deepen their localization strategies there. This suggests that the "de-risking" narrative pushed by some EU politicians has not, in practice, become the prevailing choice among EU businesses.

At its core, China-EU economic and trade cooperation is the natural outcome of the interplay between comparative advantages and market competition. Complementary strengths do not constitute a risk, nor does the convergence of interests pose a threat, as Mao Ning said on Thursday.

Over the past five decades, the annual trade volume between China and Europe has surged more than 300-fold, while two-way mutual investment has approached $260 billion — figures that vividly demonstrate the strong momentum and vast potential of China-EU economic cooperation.

Trade protectionism runs counter to economic laws and is a self-defeating practice that harms all parties involved.

EU policymakers should view the bloc's economic and trade relations with China in an objective and rational light, and work alongside the Chinese side to narrow the list of outstanding issues, expand the scope of cooperation, and achieve mutually beneficial, win-win outcomes.