European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told an audience at Peking University in Beijing that China and the bloc have to rebuild trust.

"Trust is at the core of any human relationship, and… common trust has been eroded," Borrell said Friday, the second day of his visit to the world's second-biggest economy.

"It (trust) will not come back miraculously. It has to be restored," he said.

Borrell arrived in China on Thursday, looking to manage the bloc's "de-risking" strategy with its largest trading partner while laying the foundations for a planned summit this year.

He met with European companies on economic and business challenges that he described as an "inspiring exchange."

"We must address these challenges because neither we nor China can ignore each other's market," he wrote on social media.