China expects European automakers including Volkswagen to play an active role in encouraging the EU and Germany to avoid a further escalation of economic and trade frictions with Beijing, its commerce minister said on Friday.

During a meeting with Volkswagen Chairman Oliver Blume, Wang Wentao said China appreciates automakers such as Volkswagen who advocate fair competition and "strongly" oppose European Union tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, a ministry statement said.

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo)