China expressed concern on Monday over a proposal by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to limit its ability to buy European companies in the infrastructure, hi-tech manufacturing and energy industries, the South China Morning Post reports. Top of FormIn the European Union’s equivalent of a US president’s state-of-the-union address last week, Juncker presented proposals for an investment screening framework. It aims to give EU members a tool to intervene in cases of foreign direct investment in strategic assets, in particular if carried out by state-controlled or state-financed enterprises. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the EU had for a long time been promoting free trade and making investment easier, which had brought real benefits to European nations. Closing the door would not achieve lasting development, he added. “Practising trade and investment protectionism for short-term interests, from a long-term perspective, the losses will outweigh the gains,” Lu told a daily news briefing.