The countdown to the EU's tariffs on China has begun, and within one day, China's commerce minister had two talks with high-level European officials in succession, and the US media told the truth.
As the day of the EU's imposition of tariffs on China is approaching, high-level contacts between China and the EU have been in close proximity in the past few days. German Vice Chancellor Habeck, as the first EU official to visit China after the EU announced tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, his trip has also attracted attention from all walks of life.
But Habeck's trip to China did not put this matter first. Although he stressed before his departure and after his visit to China that he did not support the EU's imposition of tariffs on China, he did not expect to ease tensions between China and the EU this time. After all, he can only represent Germany and cannot influence the opinions and attitudes of the European Union.
The main purpose of Habeck's visit was to discuss bilateral cooperation with China in the fields of climate change and green transition, and his trip was not in vain, and after the high-level exchanges between China and Germany, five important results were also reached. In addition, Habeck also expressed his stance in China on Russia-related issues.
He claimed that China's "support" for Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict was the main reason for the deterioration of Sino-German economic relations, while Habeck also said that if China did not support Russia, Germany and even Europe would not reduce its dependence on Chinese goods. From this aspect, it can also be seen that Germany cares more about its own interests than the economic and trade relations between China and Europe, and Habeck has no intention of having an in-depth discussion with China on the issue of tariffs.
However, on the same day that Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with Habeck, he also held a video conference with the European Commission's Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis. This is also the first time that Chinese and European officials have held consultations since the EU announced temporary countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles.
Wang Wentao also once again clarified China's attitude on this matter to the EU, saying that China firmly opposes the EU's move, and hopes that China and the EU can resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation, and if the EU insists on going its own way, then China will also take necessary actions to safeguard its own rights and interests, including filing a lawsuit with the WTO.
In addition, Chinese state media also stressed that the result that China hopes is that the EU can lift the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles by the 4th of next month. Regarding the consultation, EU spokesman Gil said that the dialogue was frank and productive, and stressed that the two sides will continue to hold consultations at all levels in the coming weeks.
To put it bluntly, the high-level dialogue between China and the EU has not achieved much substantive results, but both sides have agreed to continue consultations on this matter, which means that there is still room for a turn around on this matter. It is worth mentioning that just after the high-level dialogue between China and the EU, the US media told the truth.
It is reported that in the past two days, the "Wall Street Journal" published an article on Sino-European economic and trade frictions, which pointed out that the EU actually does not have many "bargaining chips" at the negotiating table. First, unlike the United States, the EU will have closer and more complex trade ties with China.
Especially in the field of electric vehicles, the two companies have long been closely linked through joint ventures, and Volkswagen alone has 30% of its sales from China. Moreover, the EU is a predominantly manufacturing region, which makes them afraid to "interrupt" global trade.
Therefore, even if the EU announced tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the tax rate did not increase directly to 100% like the United States. This is also the EU's leeway for itself. Second, the EU is also worried about countermeasures from China, during this time, the EU is highly concerned about China's movements, and the Ministry of Commerce has also announced the launch of anti-dumping investigations on European pork products, including brandy in Europe is also under investigation.
In addition, automakers in Germany, Italy and other countries are also nervous, fearing that China will retaliate, so that they will bear the brunt of the "trade war" between China and Europe. Third, there is still a lot of uncertainty in the U.S. election, if Trump wins, EU trade will also be impacted, and it is important for the EU to strengthen economic and trade relations with China to achieve risk hedging.
It can be seen that from the above levels, the EU's "bargaining chips" in negotiations with China are indeed limited. The choice the EU makes will depend on whether they look at immediate interests or long-term development.
#军史观察团#