The root cause of the problems faced by the European Union (EU) does not lie with China, and the key to addressing economic and trade concerns between the two sides lies in deepening China-EU cooperation to realize common development, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query. He stressed that China and the EU are partners, not rivals, and that their economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win in nature.