ISTANBUL

China said on Wednesday that its ties with Russia "do not target" any third party, adding that the relations between Beijing and Moscow should not be interrupted either.

“The normal cooperation between China and Russia does not target any third party and should not be interfered with by any third party,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a live-streamed news conference in Beijing.

Her remarks came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday put forward three demands to China, including restricting cooperation with Russia.

Addressing the EU Parliament on Tuesday, von der Leyen said the bloc "cannot accept" the fact that China is "de facto enabling Russia's war economy" and warned that its interaction in the conflict will be a "determining factor" for EU-China relations going forward.

The exchange of comments between Brussels and Beijing comes ahead of the EU-China leaders' summit scheduled for later this month.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the EU.

“We hope that the EU will realize that what needs to be rebalanced now is the EU's mentality, not the China-EU economic and trade relations,” Mao said, urging the EU to work with China to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and properly resolve differences and frictions.