customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Finbarr Bermingham

A delegation of senior Chinese trade officials is visiting Brussels this week, as Beijing scrambles for a deal to nix coming punitive tariffs on the country’s electric vehicles.
The group met with senior European Union counterparts on Monday, according to several sources, and was led by vice-commerce minister Li Fei, one source said.
On the EU side, Sabine Weyand, the bloc’s director general for trade, led the talks before briefing members of the European Parliament’s trade committee on the ongoing tensions with China.
The meetings are designed to pave the way for ministerial-level discussions next week when Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will be in Brussels to meet with the EU’s trade commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis.
The diplomatic flurry comes ahead of a crunch vote later this month, when member states will decide whether to impose additional tariffs of up to 36.3 per cent on Chinese-made electric vehicles.


Fifteen of the bloc’s 27 member governments would have to vote against the duties – decided upon after a European Commission anti-subsidy investigation – otherwise they would be set in place for five years.
Chinese businesses and government officials have been frantically lobbying for some reduction or even a total removal of the punitive duties.
Brussels has argued the measures are necessary to bring cheaper subsidised Chinese imports in line with market prices in Europe.
The affected Chinese car companies have already offered to implement a price floor on their EV exports to the EU. Some have also proposed a quota mechanism whereby shipments below a certain volume would escape punitive tariffs.
Those proposals are not thought to be binding enough or go far enough to appease EU authorities, sources said. In the eyes of some commission officials, they would not conform to World Trade Organization rules.
Others still harbour uncomfortable memories of a similar agreement reached with the Chinese solar sector more than 10 years ago.
That agreement was subsequently sacrificed when France and Germany cut their own deals with China, after Beijing went after their wine and automotive industries, respectively.
In Beijing on Monday, EVs featured on the agenda when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Spain has been a strong supporter of the EU’s anti-subsidy duties, and in an indicative vote in July, was one of the larger member states to vote for them. Madrid sees the duties as a way of luring Chinese companies to build factories in Spain.
While a Spanish government read-out did not mention the topic, Beijing’s version did.
“It is hoped that the two sides will strengthen cultural exchanges and deepen cooperation in areas such as economy, trade and new-energy vehicles,” the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Sanchez as saying.
“Spain is willing to provide a good environment for Chinese companies,” it added.
Xi told Sanchez, meanwhile, that “it is hoped that Spain will continue to provide a fair, equitable, safe and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest and start businesses in Spain”, the Chinese read-out stated.
The Brussels meetings happened on a day dominated by the publication of ex-Italian prime minister Mario Draghi’s report on the future of European competitiveness.

“Super Mario”, as he was nicknamed for his role in ending the bloc’s sovereign-debt crisis more than a decade ago, painted a bleak picture of Europe’s ability to compete with Chinese and American rivals in industries including EVs.
“The automotive sector is a key example of lack of EU planning, applying a climate policy without an industrial policy,” Draghi wrote.
The report asserted the EU would need to find more than US$886 billion in investment if it were to survive the US-China race for technological supremacy.
In a press conference on Monday, Draghi accused China of not heeding existing rules and encouraged Brussels to be smart and pragmatic in its dealings with Beijing.
“Europe is the most open economy in the world … when former or current partners don’t play according to the rules any longer, we are more vulnerable than others,” said Draghi.
“Trade policy has to be pragmatic … you asked me, softer or harder [on China]? We can’t be softer or harder across the board. We have to look at specific sectors and decide what we want to do.”


China’s low-priced EVs reign in Spain, make gains in Europe’s lanes

Mario Draghi has a plan for Europe to avoid ‘slow agony’. Can it work?

China won’t budge as it resists EV tariffs from EU, state broadcaster says

European Commission rejects Chinese EV price floor offer as tariff vote looms

China-EU relations

China trade officials visit Brussels seeking deal to nix European Union’s EV tariffs

Zeekr electric vehicles by Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings bound for shipment to Europe in Taicang, Jiangsu province, China, in August. Photo: Bloomberg

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez are pictured before their meeting in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP

Mario Draghi, a former Italian prime minister, on Monday called on the EU to invest more than US$886 billion a year to make the bloc more competitive economically vis-à-vis China and the US. Photo: Bloomberg

Xi Jinping welcomes Spanish PM Sanchez as both sides seek to boost ‘crucial’ ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez are pictured before their meeting in Beijing on Monday. Photo: Reuters

China’s Premier Li Qiang (right) shakes hands with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after signing of agreements in Beijing on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tech war: China’s chip industry becomes key breeding ground for unicorns, report says

The Chinese semiconductor industry is a leading breeding ground for unicorns in the country, according to a new report. Photo: AFP

Unicorns are no longer concentrated only in first-tier cities like Shanghai. Photo: EPA-EFE

‘China problem’ may be key as nominees vie for top European Commission jobs

Wopke Hoekstra, current EU climate commissioner and a front runner for the trade brief, has blamed China for “derailing our economy”. Photo: Reuters

China hawk Ursula von der Leyen will again lead the European Commission. Photo: EPA-EFE

Former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas will be the EU’s top diplomat. Photo: AFP

Ex-Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa will take over as European Council president. Photo: Reuters

Thierry Breton has been pushing for trade action on Chinese products. Photo: dpa

EU’s carbon tax on China EVs sparks debate on environmental progress, economic burden in Asia

EU tariffs on Chinese EVs may benefit Southeast Asia and India, but complex environmental regulations and carbon taxes may challenge Asian exporters’ competitiveness. Photo: Bloomberg

Indonesia depends heavily on coal for production, despite being rich in resources critical for EV batteries. Photo: Shutterstock

China widens trade battlefield with precedent-setting dispute over Canada’s EV tariffs

China has vociferously objected to Canada’s announcement of 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese elecrtic vehicles. Photo: Reuters

China has vociferously objected to Canada’s announcement of 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese elecrtic vehicles. Photo: AP

News

China

World

Europe

Knowledge

Topics

China's electric vehicle industry

Explainers

Competition

US-China tech war & rivalry

Meetings meant to pave way for ministerial-level discussions next week when China’s commerce minister and EU trade chief sit down


Meetings meant to pave way for ministerial-level discussions next week when China’s commerce minister and EU trade chief sit down.


Exclusive | China trade officials visit Brussels seeking deal to nix European Union’s EV tariffs

Meetings meant to pave way for ministerial-level discussions next week when China’s commerce minister and EU trade chief sit down