B Mirror Desk: In reaction to US tariffs, China and the EU have discussed ways to improve their trade and economic cooperation, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Thursday.
According to a statement from the Chinese ministry, China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao spoke with European Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic via video conference on Tuesday about resuming trade relief negotiations and starting negotiations on electric vehicle price pledges right away.
The discussion took place just before the implementation of additional tariffs on China by US President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a surprising decision to temporarily reduce the significant tariffs he had recently applied to numerous countries. However, he intensified his stance against China, threatening to increase tariffs on the second-largest economy in the world to 125%.
Wang informed Sefcovic that China is prepared to enhance trade, investment, and industrial collaboration with the European Union.
Wang called for both China and the EU to work together to uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system and to commit to trade liberalization and facilitation, stating that this would bring greater stability and certainty to the global economy and international trade, according to the ministry’s statement.
Additionally, China and the EU addressed the need to create a more favorable business climate for companies and discussed issues related to trade transfers.
They plan to continue enhancing communication within the framework of the World Trade Organization and to collaboratively advocate for WTO reform, as noted in the ministry’s statement.
At the end of October, the EU imposed extra tariffs of up to 35.3% on electric vehicles manufactured in China following an anti-subsidy investigation, in addition to the standard 10% import tariffs on cars.
The two parties have agreed to begin negotiations on minimum pricing guarantees for Chinese EVs, the trade ministry announced last week, though it did not say when.
