The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, urged China on Tuesday to ensure a negotiated solution to problems caused by the sweeping import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

In a phone call with China’s Premier Li Qiang, von der Leyen “stressed the responsibility of Europe and China, as two of the world’s largest markets, to support a strong reformed trading system, free, fair and founded on a level playing field”, her office said in a statement.

Both politicians discussed setting up a mechanism to track possible trade diversion caused by the tariffs, von der Leyen’s office said, as the EU fears China will redirect cheap exports from the US to Europe.

Premier Li said both sides should step up communications and safeguard free and open trade and investment, Chinese state radio reported.

“China is willing to strengthen political mutual trust with the EU,” Li said, adding that China insists on tackling each other's concerns through dialogue and consultation.

Beijing on Tuesday rebuked Trump after he announced additional 50 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, calling it “blackmail”.

Trump has also threatened to ratchet up tariffs on US imports from the world’s No. 2 economy to more than 100 percent from Wednesday in response to China’s decision to match the “reciprocal” duties the US president announced last week.

The European Union has proposed counter-tariffs of its own to Trump’s onslaught that has swept up dozens of countries, sent financial markets into a tailspin and fuelled expectations that the global economy may be headed for recession.