German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday urged EU countries to speak as one in their dealings with China, warning it would be "disastrous" to go it alone at a time of tensions with the Asian giant over technology and human rights, reports AFP.

"One of the biggest dangers I see... is that everyone in Europe has their own China policy, and that we end up sending completely different signals," Merkel said in a speech to German lawmakers.

The European Union should adopt a common strategy on developing the next-generation 5G mobile networks, Merkel said, amid concerns that Chinese tech giant Huawei could be a used as a tool by Beijing for spying.

Germany has so far defied pressure from the United States to exclude Huawei from taking part in the bidding process for its 5G network, insisting that it would set stringent security conditions. But critics have accused Berlin of trying to appease China, its largest trading partner, and putting economic interests first.