Volkswagen AG’s top executive Herbert Diess has warned Europe against decoupling with China and called for more cooperation, as economic relations between major Western countries and Beijing turn sour.

The attitude of European nations towards China is particularly important at the moment, as Beijing’s tough stance on Lithuania backfired within the trade bloc, and trade tension with the United States and Australia shows no sign of abating.

“It would be very damaging if Germany or the EU wanted to decouple from China,” Diess wrote on social media platform LinkedIn on Monday.

“As a global company, we will never stop advocating for globalisation, a multilateral rules-based trading system and engagement.