SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The EU does not want a trade war with Beijing but five years of talks have yielded no real progress, the bloc's ambassador to China said on Saturday, adding that concern was growing over Chinese market access for European medical devices.

China and the European Union should address their disagreements and form a united front against a "triumphant" Donald Trump, said a former chief of the World Trade Organization, calling the incoming US president a threat to global trade.

Anything from China would be hit with a devastating 60% duty. The EU as a' mini China' for Trump. Trump has focused a lot of attention on China but has also called the EU a "mini China."

Imposing sanctions and engaging in trade wars does not align with China's interests, nor with the EU's interests, a Chinese observer said on Sunday, describing the complexity of China-EU relations like that of a "wrangling married couple.

China has urged France to push the European Commission towards a solution acceptable to both the European and Chinese electric vehicle industries, while France said the bloc would not yield on key matters as it pushes to overturn a tariff on brandy.

Peggy Grande, who was a political appointee for Donald Trump, told The Independent he is likely to give a “preferential trade deal to the UK” and she thinks tariffs will “more greatly affect the EU than the UK”.

Former Australian ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos has delved into how US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs will affect the world.