BEIJING, August 8. /TASS/. EU countries should lift export restrictions imposed on China if they want to solve the problem of trade imbalance, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

"In recent years, the EU has tightened the export of high-tech products to China, which is a direct cause of the decreasing potential of European exports to China and the emergence of a trade imbalance. If the European side really wants to solve this problem, it should not blame China, but lift export restrictions," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

The EU has repeatedly expressed concern about the growing imbalance in trade relations with China. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in April that the EU's trade deficit with China had more than tripled over the past decade and would reach nearly 400 billion euros by 2022. In particular, the EC chief complained about alleged unfair Chinese practices in some sectors against European companies, preventing them from accessing the Chinese market.