A senior Chinese diplomat has accused Europe of taking an outdated, inward-looking approach to China, while signaling that Beijing is open to addressing Brussels' concerns. Li Jian, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry's Department of European Affairs, delivered his strongly worded speech at a high-level forum on Tuesday. At the conference hosted by the European Union delegation to China in Beijing, officials and experts from both sides shared concerns about economic dependencies, geopolitical uncertainties, and security concerns, but largely sidestepped public discussion of US President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to China. Addressing the event, Li used a string of traditional Chinese idioms and other colorful expressions to criticize Europe's approach towards China. Balancing trade and economic rivalry: the future of Sino-German relations. He warned that "some voices arising in Europe" sought to push China-Europe ties "away from the track of long-term cooperation" and towards "comprehensive competition, or even confrontation."