Beijing has said its ties with Europe bring "precious stability" after US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on trading partners across the globe, with Beijing singled out for levies of up to 245 percent for some goods.

But the bloc has a fraught relationship with the Asian power, with EU countries imposing restrictions on Chinese investment on sensitive industries and levying extra tariffs on China's electric cars.

"We have not been taken seriously when it comes to trade barriers," EU Ambassador Jorge Toledo said at an event on Shanghai. "Market access barriers are not going down. They're going up."

"We strongly feel that we not only do not have a level playing field for our companies in China, that the situation is not improving... there is something that has to be done," Toledo said.

Beijing is the EU's second-largest trading partner after the United States, but European companies have long complained that local firms receive favourable treatment in the Chinese market.

A study last year found that European companies in China were facing challenges stemming from a politicised business climate.

The "general sentiment of uncertainty" was pushing three-quarters of European companies to review their exposure to China, the European Union Chamber of Commerce found in the report.