EU's stance clouds trade talk prospects

Prospects of an inaugural meeting under the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, scheduled for next week, have become increasingly uncertain despite intensive working-level consultations, a Ministry of Commerce source told China Daily on Friday.

The uncertainty stems from the European Union's increasingly protectionist stance toward China and its failure to make any progress in addressing China's core economic and trade concerns, the source said.

According to the source, working teams from both sides had been talking from early this month through last week, engaging in extensive discussions on bilateral economic and trade issues in preparation for the inaugural meeting.

However, while the EU continued to press China to address its concerns over export controls and market access, it refused to correct its protectionist measures against China, showed no sincerity in responding to China's concerns and took no concrete actions.

Although China made clear that it would take countermeasures if the EU introduced new trade or investment restrictions that harmed Chinese interests, the EU paid little heed to the warning. Such actions have cast doubt on whether the inaugural meeting can produce substantive outcomes, the source said, adding that the EU's recent actions have further fueled concerns that bilateral trade frictions could intensify.

Following last week's European Council summit in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU had built a broad toolbox, which it should use more proactively and strategically to safeguard its interests, while also developing new instruments.

European media outlets also reported that the EU is considering imposing additional tariffs on Chinese-made plug-in hybrid vehicles.

According to the source, many of the EU's existing and proposed trade instruments are increasingly targeting Chinese businesses. The commission, which is the EU's executive body, has launched nine formal foreign subsidy investigations involving Chinese companies, accounting for more than 80 percent of all such cases and significantly affecting China's investment in Europe. The group has also designated China as a "high-risk country" for certain projects, restricting funding for projects that use Chinese inverters. In negotiations over steel tariff-rate quotas, the commission has shown limited willingness to address China's concerns, despite the fact that the country's losses are substantially greater than the average.

Meanwhile, the source said that the EU's proposed revisions to the EU Cybersecurity Act and the Industrial Accelerator Act are expected to introduce additional barriers for Chinese companies and products.

Earlier this week, the Brussels-based China Chamber of Commerce to the European Union said that rising imports from China ultimately reflect choices made by European businesses and consumers.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn