"This is very worrying. The main cause is the sluggish European economy, where demand is weak and competitiveness is declining. But the EU's protectionist measures against China have also had a harmful impact on trade."

Chinese ambassador to the European Union Wu Hailong calling for talks to settle the trade disputes between his country and the bloc, and warning that protectionism may end up harming the EU itself. Wu said that in the past year, China-EU trade has been on a downward trajectory, declining 3.7 percent in 2012 and 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/31/2013 page18)