China's Xi says challenges facing EU do not come from China, Xinhua reports

BEIJING, July 24 (Reuters) - China and the European Union have no fundamental conflicts of interests and the current challenges facing the EU do not come from China, President Xi Jinping said in a meeting with EU's Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa on Thursday.

Xi called on the EU to keep its trade and investment markets open, refrain from using "restrictive economic and trade tools", and respect China's core interests, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Both sides need to properly handle differences and frictions, Xi said, adding that China is willing to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence and climate change.