The European Union's ambassador to China has stressed the importance of Sino-EU cooperation on reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), warning the future of the body is in peril unless changes are made.

Nicolas Chapuis, speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday evening to mark the start of Finland's presidency of the Council of the European Union, said joint efforts between the EU and China to reform the organization that helps regulate global trade were "very important, because the WTO is in danger of death."

At a China-EU summit in April, the sides agreed to continue working to resolve a crisis in the WTO appellate body and cooperate on other areas of reform of the organization.

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The appellate body, the organization's dispute settlement mechanism, requires at least three judges to rule on appeals but the United States has blocked new appointments. Only three judges remain and one of those is scheduled to retire in December, a move which threatens to curb the WTO's ability to settle disputes.

Earlier in the week, at the World Peace Forum in Beijing, Chapuis argued the U.S. was bypassing the WTO on trade issues. "Not to judge but to state a fact: The Trump administration carries out its trade policies outside the WTO," Xinhua quoted the ambassador as saying.

Talks continued in the China-EU Joint Working Group on WTO reform this week, and Chapuis said he was hopeful of significant progress before the end of the year. "The fact that the EU and China are in a position to work together to find solutions is very significant globally," he added.

Chapuis also expressed confidence of headway in other areas of the "very close" bilateral relationship, saying after a busy first half of the year there was "ambition to do more over the months to come."

The long-running talks over a proposed EU-China Comprehensive Investment Agreement were now moving at a faster pace, the ambassador said, with lengthier negotiations and a broader scope. He added that an "ambitious EU-China market access agreement, paving the way for the next 10-20 years" is being targeted but ways to find a level playing field must be found. 

Chapuis also dismissed concerns about the prospective new EU leadership team, which will take office in November and December if approved. He insisted relations between China and the EU are dependent on interests and values rather than personalities, and that no matter who eventually takes the top jobs in Brussels "China will be at the top of the agenda."

The Frenchman added that work was continuing on implementing the China-EU Civil Aviation Safety Agreement and a deal on protection of geographical indicators by 2020, and stressed there would be a high level of Sino-EU cooperation on climate change ahead of the upcoming climate conferences in New York and Santiago.