Play store
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic has arrived in Beijing for talks on the European Union’s widening trade deficit with China and other contentious trade issues.
Sefcovic is scheduled to meet Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Thursday and Friday. The talks, which have been under preparation for months, are expected to focus on the EU’s trade deficit with China, which exceeds €1 billion a day, as well as Beijing’s restrictions on exports of rare earths and other critical minerals.
The talks come as Chinese automakers are posing an increasingly strong challenge to Europe’s leading carmakers. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Beijing had rejected an EU request to voluntarily limit exports of Chinese hybrid vehicles to the bloc ahead of the negotiations.
The European Commission could now urge China to accept unilateral restrictions on hybrid vehicle imports, according to two diplomats cited by the report.
The two-day talks also come amid growing calls within the EU for a tougher trade policy toward Beijing. On Wednesday, a majority of European lawmakers backed a non-binding resolution calling for a stronger approach to China.
China’s Commerce Ministry, meanwhile, has warned that Beijing would take firm countermeasures to protect its industries if the EU imposes restrictions on Chinese companies or products.
The EU’s two largest economies, France and Germany, are also pushing for stronger tools to respond to trade measures they consider harmful to the bloc.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday called for a credible mechanism that would allow the EU to respond quickly to countries whose economic policies harm the bloc.
The proposed mechanism would not target any specific country. German officials said the EU needs a tool comparable in strength to the US Section 301 tariffs or China’s restrictions on exports of critical minerals.
EU leaders are expected to discuss the proposed mechanism at a summit next week. If approved, it could allow the European Commission to impose countermeasures within days in response to what it considers economic coercion.
China, however, has urged France and Germany to refrain from protectionist measures.