WATCH: Alex Cadier reports on Borrell's visit to China

The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said the EU was committed to managing bilateral relations with China in a "constructive and responsible manner" amid a threat of continued trade investigations.

Borrell, speaking at a press briefing after talks with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said "we need fairness, balance and reciprocity in order to remain as open as we are and want to be."

Borrell is on a long-anticipated three-day visit to China after two postponements earlier this year. His visit also comes a week after the EU launched an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports – while also reportedly planning investigations of steelmakers producing excess in countries like China – as part of a pact with the U.S..

Wang described the talks as "comprehensive, candid and friendly" and said China took Europe's concerns on trade seriously, but urged the EU to avoid "protectionist" approaches and be cautious in using trade remedies.

"We need to keep industrial chains stable and maintain fair competition," Wang added.

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Earlier on Friday, Borrell urged China to redress economic and trade imbalances. "It is in our interest to find common ground, to redress the imbalance in our economic and trade relations," Borrell told students at the capital's prestigious Peking University. "Otherwise, de-risking may indeed accelerate far more than is good, as public opinion will increase its pressure on political leaders to disengage more from China."

The 27-member EU's record $426.08 billion trade deficit with the world's second-largest economy has become a major sticking point in the relationship.  China has previously said its trade surplus with EU is a natural result of different industrial structures and methods of trade. 

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