After agreeing to discuss a potential settlement, Beijing wants the EU to abandon its intentions to slap provisional duties on Chinese electric car imports by July 4, according to China's state-run Global Times.
By July 4, imports of electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China will be subject to temporary EU taxes of up to 38.1% while the EU looks into what it claims are unfair and excessive subsidies.
This week, Chinese officials will hold technical talks in Brussels, according to the European Commission.
"The EU side has emphasised that any negotiated outcome of the investigation must be effective in addressing the injurious subsidisation," said a spokesman for the Commission.
Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz stated that China too needs to make "serious movement and progress".
China has consistently demanded that the EU remove its tariffs and indicated that it is open to negotiations. Still hurting from the Trump administration's U.S. tariffs on its exports, Beijing does not want to become involved in another trade war, but it does promise to do all in its power to defend Chinese companies if one were to break out.
The optimum result, according to commentators cited by China's Global Times, would be for the EU to abandon its tariff intentions before July 4.
Trade advocacy organisations in Europe and analysts emphasised that China would have to be prepared to make significant concessions during the discussions.
Prior to the June 30 and July 7 elections in France, Alicia Garcia Herrero, a senior fellow at the important EU affairs research tank Bruegel, expressed doubts that the proposed limitations would be lifted.
"The Commission can't change a decision it has been pondering for months on months on months," she added. "Yes, China is putting pressure on the member states, but they would need to vote with a qualified majority against the Commission."
Following the conclusion of the anti-subsidy inquiry, the European Commission is scheduled to render a final judgement on tariffs by November 2.
A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by the Chinese ministry of trade.
The chairman of BDI, the largest industrial group in Germany, Siegfried Russwurm, called the news that both parties will have discussions a "good sign".
"You know the old saying: as long as there are talks you're not shooting at each other," he told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
As the head of the German giant and auto supplier Thyssenkrupp, Russwurm said tariffs were the last thing a large exporting country like Germany needed.
Meanwhile, Brussels' decision to impose tariffs of differing degrees indicated that a careful investigation had been conducted and that this was not an attempt to equally attack the Chinese auto industry as a whole.
In the interim, Maximilian Butek, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in China, stated that unless China resolved every point raised by the European Commission, there was "zero chance" the provisional tariffs would be lifted by July 4.
Due to worries that China's production-focused growth model may result in an oversupply of low-cost goods as Chinese companies seek to increase exports in the face of poor domestic demand, EU trade policy has become more protectionist.
China has denied claims that it receives unfair subsidies or that it is experiencing an overcapacity issue, arguing that its supply chains, market, and technological advantages have contributed to the growth of its electric vehicle (EV) sector.
Zhang Yansheng, chief research fellow at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, said, "I had an intuitive feeling it was not only an economic issue but also a geopolitical issue when European Commission President Von der Leyen announced she would investigate China's new energy vehicles."
Beijing has called for negotiations but has also made it clear that it believes Brussels is solely to blame for the rising tensions and that it is prepared to take punitive action if the EU does not back down.
China has launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of pork from the EU. According to The Global Times, China is also preparing taxes on large-engined petrol automobiles and an anti-subsidy inquiry into European dairy products.
Through interviews with business leaders and remarks in state media, Chinese officials have hinted at potential retaliation actions.
Beijing is likely to increase taxes by up to 25% on European automobiles built with 2.5-liter engines or larger, according to Jacob Gunter, principal analyst at the China research centre MERICS in Berlin.
"Pork and dairy are already on the table for Beijing, and likely more agricultural products will be threatened," he added.
"On the EU side, there are a variety of ongoing investigations ... so we should expect some sort of measures targeting distortions on (Chinese) products ranging from medical devices to airport security scanners to steel pipes."
(Source:www.economictimes.com)
By July 4, imports of electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China will be subject to temporary EU taxes of up to 38.1% while the EU looks into what it claims are unfair and excessive subsidies.
This week, Chinese officials will hold technical talks in Brussels, according to the European Commission.
"The EU side has emphasised that any negotiated outcome of the investigation must be effective in addressing the injurious subsidisation," said a spokesman for the Commission.
Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz stated that China too needs to make "serious movement and progress".
China has consistently demanded that the EU remove its tariffs and indicated that it is open to negotiations. Still hurting from the Trump administration's U.S. tariffs on its exports, Beijing does not want to become involved in another trade war, but it does promise to do all in its power to defend Chinese companies if one were to break out.
The optimum result, according to commentators cited by China's Global Times, would be for the EU to abandon its tariff intentions before July 4.
Trade advocacy organisations in Europe and analysts emphasised that China would have to be prepared to make significant concessions during the discussions.
Prior to the June 30 and July 7 elections in France, Alicia Garcia Herrero, a senior fellow at the important EU affairs research tank Bruegel, expressed doubts that the proposed limitations would be lifted.
"The Commission can't change a decision it has been pondering for months on months on months," she added. "Yes, China is putting pressure on the member states, but they would need to vote with a qualified majority against the Commission."
Following the conclusion of the anti-subsidy inquiry, the European Commission is scheduled to render a final judgement on tariffs by November 2.
A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by the Chinese ministry of trade.
The chairman of BDI, the largest industrial group in Germany, Siegfried Russwurm, called the news that both parties will have discussions a "good sign".
"You know the old saying: as long as there are talks you're not shooting at each other," he told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
As the head of the German giant and auto supplier Thyssenkrupp, Russwurm said tariffs were the last thing a large exporting country like Germany needed.
Meanwhile, Brussels' decision to impose tariffs of differing degrees indicated that a careful investigation had been conducted and that this was not an attempt to equally attack the Chinese auto industry as a whole.
In the interim, Maximilian Butek, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in China, stated that unless China resolved every point raised by the European Commission, there was "zero chance" the provisional tariffs would be lifted by July 4.
Due to worries that China's production-focused growth model may result in an oversupply of low-cost goods as Chinese companies seek to increase exports in the face of poor domestic demand, EU trade policy has become more protectionist.
China has denied claims that it receives unfair subsidies or that it is experiencing an overcapacity issue, arguing that its supply chains, market, and technological advantages have contributed to the growth of its electric vehicle (EV) sector.
Zhang Yansheng, chief research fellow at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, said, "I had an intuitive feeling it was not only an economic issue but also a geopolitical issue when European Commission President Von der Leyen announced she would investigate China's new energy vehicles."
Beijing has called for negotiations but has also made it clear that it believes Brussels is solely to blame for the rising tensions and that it is prepared to take punitive action if the EU does not back down.
China has launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of pork from the EU. According to The Global Times, China is also preparing taxes on large-engined petrol automobiles and an anti-subsidy inquiry into European dairy products.
Through interviews with business leaders and remarks in state media, Chinese officials have hinted at potential retaliation actions.
Beijing is likely to increase taxes by up to 25% on European automobiles built with 2.5-liter engines or larger, according to Jacob Gunter, principal analyst at the China research centre MERICS in Berlin.
"Pork and dairy are already on the table for Beijing, and likely more agricultural products will be threatened," he added.
"On the EU side, there are a variety of ongoing investigations ... so we should expect some sort of measures targeting distortions on (Chinese) products ranging from medical devices to airport security scanners to steel pipes."
(Source:www.economictimes.com)
