An Irish MEP has said that the trade policy pursued by US president Donald Trump presents an "opportunity" for the EU and China to ease trade tensions.

Since early last year, China and the EU have been in a state of heightened trade tension, which started as a dispute over electric vehicles, but expanded to take in a range of other economic goods.

This resulted in China launching an investigation of "subsidies" in the EU dairy sector, and the EU responding by taking the case to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

However, Irish MEP Barry Cowen has called for a "pragmatic and constructive" approach to EU-China trade relations.

His comments in the European Parliament came after a meeting between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Dublin, where discussions focused on trade, human rights and global geopolitical issues.

China is Ireland's largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region, totaling €36 billion in bilateral trade in 2023.

According to Cowen, it is important to foster "fair and sustainable competition" while acknowledging challenges in global trade dynamics.

He said that, with global trade conditions increasingly volatile due to the new Trump administration's trade policy - a policy that threatens tariffs on EU goods - an "opportunity exists to re-engage on critical issues such as agriculture and electric vehicle trade".

He said finding common ground would benefit both the EU and China.

Cowen, an MEP for the Ireland Midlands--North-West constituency, called for a temporary withdrawal of the WTO adjudication process and called on the EU to suspend an 85% tariff on lysine imports, which he said is a "costly blow to agricultural inputs".

"I personally have previously been part of parliamentary discussions with the Chinese government both at home and in Beijing. And, notwithstanding differences on many issues, I always found them...to be pragmatic," he said.

"It seems fairly obvious to me that they, no more than the rest of us, are very conscious of the erratic trade conditions that now exist for all blocs and countries with the likes of the US. I think they honestly want to see common sense prevail," the Fianna Fáil MEP said.

He added that a further withdrawal of the tariff on lysine would be a sign of "goodwill and intention on the part of the EU's perspective".

The Fianna Fáil MEP called for a "new discussion on agricultural products and electric vehicles to explore the potential that now exists inadvertently, because of U.S. actions relating to international trade".