BRUSSELS/BEIJING -- China and the European Union committed Tuesday to bolstering trade ties and improving market access, as Beijing follows up on President Xi Jinping's visit to the continent last month.

The EU and China will "intensify the discussions with the aim of strengthening international rules on industrial subsidies," according to the joint statement released after difficult working-level talks. European Council President Donald Tusk hailed this outcome as a "breakthrough."

"For the first time, China has agreed to engage with Europe on this key priority for [World Trade Organization] reform," Tusk told reporters during a joint news conference after the meeting in Brussels. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang added that his country is prepared to improve the business environment for foreign companies.

The two sides also agreed to work toward concluding a comprehensive investment agreement by 2020. The progress came during the annual China-EU summit, as Li met with Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

That China's two top leaders have made visits to Europe only two weeks apart underscores the urgency of this year's summit for Beijing. Locked in a trade war with the U.S., China seeks to allay frustration in European capitals over its commercial policies and avoid having to fight on a second front.

"Europe is an important force in the world and has been a priority of China's diplomacy," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters Monday in Beijing.

The EU insisted during the working-level talks that China create fair conditions for trading and investment, while China balked at putting down constructive statements in writing.

EU officials had demanded more progress before any joint statement was released. In 2017, disagreement over trade scuppered work on a EU-China summit statement.

Distrust toward China remains palpable in EU capitals. Proposals have been floated for tougher investment and import regulations against non-EU nations that fail to play by the same rules.

"We have to make sure ... that we don't have unilateral protectionism, but react in a reciprocal manner to developments in world trade," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last month.

Yet the EU is not monolithic, as Xi demonstrated in March during his visit to three European countries. China is a major trading partner, with bilateral trade flows jumping about 40% over five years through 2018.

During the Chinese president's visit to Italy, the two countries agreed to cooperate on China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, pulling a Group of Seven economy within the initiative's orbit for the first time. EU members are also divided on shutting out equipment made by Huawei Technologies and other Chinese high-tech manufacturers.