The European Commission on Wednesday proposed new public procurement rules that would allow public buyers across the EU to restrict or reject bids from suppliers based in countries not covered by the bloc's procurement agreements, a group that includes China. Chinese experts said that the move represents a further escalation of the EU's trade protectionism.

Brussels weighs quotas, local content rules and other ways to favour EU products

Authorities and public bodies to be urged to buy goods and services from Europe, but without binding quotas