Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed intent to deepen economic cooperation between China and Europe in his meeting with European Union leaders.

Xi met European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing on Thursday.

China's foreign ministry quoted Xi as telling the two EU leaders, "There is a high degree of complementarity between the Chinese and EU economies. The two sides should do more to increase the breadth and depth of cooperation and tighten the bond of shared interests."

As to the Beijing-led Belt and Road initiative, Xi said China "will continue to promote high-quality" cooperation with the EU.

Xi also said in the meeting that China and Europe should not view each other as rivals or engage in confrontation due to differences in their political systems and opinions.

In response, von der Leyen told Xi that while China is the most important trade partner for the EU, there are clear imbalances and differences that need to be addressed, referring to the EU's trade deficit with China.

The EU is calling for "de-risking" its relationship with China, whereby it would reduce its dependence on China while maintaining economic relations with the country.

Italy has officially informed China it is leaving the Belt and Road initiative. In addition, the European Commission has launched an investigation into China's state subsidies to manufacturers of electric vehicles, which it suspects are keeping down prices of Chinese EVs in the EU.