Brussels, 15/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - During a press conference on Tuesday 15 April in Paris, Peter Mandelson urged China to take concrete measures to tone down trade tensions with the EU. The European Commissioner for trade insisted that EU/China trade, “must go in both directions”. He said that the trade deficit of the EU27 with China was, “unsustainable and unacceptable”. He hammered home the fact that, “We look to China to take appropriate measures to increase access to its markets, increase intellectual property protection. Just more talks won't satisfy the EU. We need delivery”. During a speech on the same day to the China-Britain Business Council in London, Mandelson provides assurances that the EU would not ignore human rights in trade talks with China. He declared that, “I do not think that it is possible or desirable to wall off trade from the rest of our ties with China - including the issue of human rights, where we have legitimate influence to exert on China”. The Commissioner will go to Beijing on 24 April with a European Commission delegation to inaugurate the new high level EU/China economic and trade dialogue mechanism (EUROPE 9553 and 9608). (E.H.)