In a bid to cool searing trade tensions, the European Union and China have launched a new ministerial-level platform for solving grievances, with Brussels insisting that disputes over trade imbalances, export controls and intellectual property must deliver “tangible results” by October.
On Monday, in the middle of marathon talks in the Belgian capital, the sides issued a rare joint statement, in which they announced four initial workstreams, focused on trade and investment balancing, export controls, intellectual property rights and World Trade Organization reform.
As part of this, and amid a rancorous debate about the impact of Chinese industrial overcapacity on Europe’s economy, Beijing agreed to establish a “joint monitoring mechanism of trade flows”, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said during a break from an all-day negotiating session with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
This will see them use the same agreed trade data to monitor surges in imports that would cross into a “red” zone, and quickly escalate to political talks, which would appear to be a departure from Beijing’s public dismissal of Europe’s complaints about trade imbalances and overcapacity.
Sefcovic said talks had been “intensive, focused and constructive”, but warned that the bloc would be forced to take action should meaningful progress not be achieved before the autumn.
“There is much more understanding for the common challenges for the European situation from our Chinese counterparts than we had before,” Sefcovic told reporters, adding that he would travel to Beijing again in the autumn to assess progress.
