China has invited an EU team to visit for further talks, despite the failure of nearly three weeks of negotiations. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that from September 20, Chinese and European Union representatives held eight rounds of intense talks over 20 days and made “significant progress” in some areas. “Yet regrettably, the EU has failed to positively respond to matters relating to the core concerns of Chinese and EU industries,” it said. “With major differences between the two sides remaining, the consultations have been unable to produce a mutually acceptable solution.”
However, China remained “committed and sincere towards finding solutions through dialogue and consultation”, MOFCOM said, adding that it hoped an EU technical team could visit China and arrange for talks to “reach a proper solution as soon as possible”.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China hoped the European Union would “correctly view” its development and adopt “rational” policies towards the country as the trade dispute over electric vehicle tariffs threatens to escalate into a trade war. In a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel on the sidelines of an ASEAN regional forum in Laos, Li said the international community expected China and the European Union to push for healthy, stable and sustainable development of ties as the world faced rapid changes. “China regards Europe as an important focus for China’s diplomacy and an important partner in promoting Chinese-style modernization,” he was quoted by Chinese state news agency Xinhua as telling Michel. “It is hoped that EU institutions will correctly view China’s development and formulate an objective and rational policy towards China.”
The face-to-face talks came just days after China announced anti-dumping measures against European brandy imports. Beijing’s decision followed an EU vote to press ahead with hefty tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. China also signaled it could slap tariffs on cars imported from the EU. The Ministry also said the EU’s actions against Chinese-made electric vehicles “seriously lack a factual and legal basis”. At the World Trade Organization (WTO), the European Commission plans to challenge China’s move to impose the anti-dumping measures, which a trade spokesman labelled as “unfounded”. Separately, the EU had earlier launched an investigation into Chinese subsidies for solar panels and wind turbines while China conducts ongoing inquiries into European pork and dairy products. Jens Eskelund, Chairman of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), said that a “full-blown trade war looks more and more likely if nothing changes”. A Chinese statement after the meeting between Li and Michel, carried by Xinhua, did not refer directly to the tit-for-tat tariffs.
According to the Xinhua report, Michel said the EU viewed its partnership with China with “great importance”, and that the EU looked forward to deepening exchanges with Beijing. “The EU hopes to resolve relevant issues through dialogue and consultation and promote the development of EU-China economic and trade relations,” he said.
An EU official said the meeting between Li and Michel was “frank”, adding that the European Council President emphasized the importance of the EU’s ties with China, as well as the need to “rebalance” their economic relationship “with a focus on fair competition and creating a level playing field”. According to the official, Michel also pressed Beijing to use its influence over Moscow to stop Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and raised European concerns over “battlefield goods” from China benefiting Russian war efforts. Michel said he hoped the two sides could come to an agreement in the coming days or weeks “but it is a very difficult situation” and “very challenging”. “But we have very strong and legitimate interests and it is the responsibility of the European Union to defend our people, to defend our citizens,” he added. “We count on China to adapt its behavior and to understand that we have to rebalance the economic relationships for more fairness, for fair competition, for a more level playing field.”
In a phone call with Emmanuel Bonne, Foreign Affairs Adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged France to view China’s trade relations with the EU with a “positive and open attitude”. China’s Foreign Ministry said Wang described France as an “important economic and trade partner of China in the EU”, and stressed that healthy China-EU ties were in the common interests of both sides. “It is hoped that the French side will view China-EU economic and trade relations with a positive and open attitude, promote the EU to meet China halfway, and play a constructive role in the consultations and negotiations between the two sides,” he said. “It is believed that China and France have sufficient political wisdom to properly handle differences in specific areas, adhere to mutual respect and win-win cooperation, maintain communication and dialogue and coordinate strong actions, and maintain the development momentum of bilateral relations,” Foreign Minister Wang said, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
