China's great success in the field of new energy electric vehicles has made Europe, the former global leader in automobiles, a red eye.
In order to restrict China's booming new energy electric vehicle industry, Europe has recently raised tariffs on China in an attempt to curb the opening of the global market for China's new energy electric vehicles!
China and the EU have discussed the issue of tariffs many times, and the EU has put forward settlement conditions, revealing the real intention behind it, which is to share technology with China in the field of new energy electric vehicles!
In the face of Europe's unreasonable demands, will the mainland give in and agree, and where will China-EU cooperation go in the future?
First, the vigorous development of China's new energy electric vehicles has been favored by Europe
Since the birth of the automobile in the Industrial Revolution, Europe has been one of the core regions of automobile production.
Germany, France and other countries in Europe were once famous automobile factories, with a series of world-renowned car companies such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Citroen and so on.
However, with the strong rise of the new energy electric vehicle industry, the monopoly pattern of old European car companies in the global auto market has gradually been broken.
New energy electric vehicles have many advantages over traditional fuel vehicles, which makes the traditional fuel vehicle market increasingly sluggish.
The biggest advantage of new energy electric vehicles is that the energy used is more environmentally friendly, less damaging to the environment, in line with the concept of global environmental protection and sustainable development, which makes new energy electric vehicles popular in the world!
Moreover, with the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the instability of the situation in the Middle East, the global oil price has ushered in a rapid growth, and the driving cost of traditional fuel vehicles has continued to rise, further hitting the enthusiasm of the majority of car owners for the purchase of traditional fuel vehicles!
The main defect of the previous new energy electric vehicles that could not replace fuel vehicles was that there was an obvious gap between power and battery life and fuel vehicles.
However, with the advent of ternary lithium batteries and lithium iron phosphate batteries, the power and endurance problems of new energy electric vehicles have been properly solved.
At present, the new energy electric vehicles produced in the mainland generally have a range of about 600 kilometers, and the acceleration speed of 100 meters is also constantly creating new highs.
What is even more unacceptable to the European market is that a large number of Europeans have increased the purchase of new energy electric vehicles in China in line with the concept of green environmental protection, and compressed the economic benefits of traditional European automobile companies!
China's booming new energy electric vehicle industry has enabled China to surpass Japan and become the world's largest automobile exporter, realizing the corner overtaking of traditional fuel vehicle powerhouses!
In the face of the rapid rise of China's new energy electric vehicle industry, European countries feel very red, so they have taken a series of measures to restrict the further development of China's new energy electric vehicle industry!
So what kind of restrictions does Europe impose on China's new energy industry, and what real intentions does the European side expose under the Sino-EU negotiations?
Second, Europe's real attempt to raise import tariffs on new energy products from China
In order to limit the heavy pressure on Western car companies caused by the rapid rise of China's new energy electric vehicle industry, the EU actively responded to the policy requirements of the United States and increased tariff restrictions on China's new energy electric vehicle industry.
In fact, as early as last year, the European Union has been eyeing China's booming new energy industry, and has complained to the United Nations that the Chinese government has excessive financial subsidies for Chinese new energy companies.
Moreover, the EU is also trying to use the so-called countervailing investigation as a reason to launch an investigation on Chinese auto companies in Europe, which requires Chinese new energy vehicle companies to provide all battery product business scope, development planning, technical processes and product formulas, etc., and the EU's collection of information completely exceeds the needs of the anti-dumping investigation!
Therefore, mainland companies suspect that the real purpose of the EU is to explore China's technology patents in the field of new energy electric vehicles, so they refuse to make concessions, which also indirectly leads to the implementation of the EU's subsequent tariff policy on China.
In mid-June, the EU suddenly raised tariffs on imports of goods from China by up to 38.1% under the pretext of excessive subsidies for China's new energy electric vehicle products, thus bringing the cooperation between China and the EU to a complete impasse.
It is interesting to note that the United States was afraid of the continuous growth of China's new energy electric vehicle industry, so it implemented a tariff increase policy against China. The U.S. tariffs were even more aggressive, from 25 percent to more than 100 percent.
The implementation time of the EU's policy of raising China's new energy electric vehicle tariffs is July 4, which happens to be the Independence Day of the United States, so the implementation of the EU's policy can also be seen as its response to the United States and its loyal behavior.
Although the EU plans to increase tariffs on China, it is not supported by all countries, with Germany being a solid denier.
Germany is one of the countries with which China has the closest cooperation in Europe, and it has a large number of orders for new energy batteries imported from China.
Therefore, once the tariff increase policy is implemented, it will play a restraining role in German auto companies and German economic development, and German Economy Minister Habeck is planning a visit to China to act as a mediator between China and Europe, in an attempt to make China and Europe make mutual concessions!
In the context of the continuous ossification of Sino-EU cooperation, the EU has proposed a relatively "modest" solution.
The EU's proposal to invite Chinese automakers to build joint venture factories in Europe and share technology with the EU to reduce tariffs seems reasonable, but there is too much caution behind it.
It seems to be seeking tariff reductions and exemptions for Chinese companies in the form of investment, but behind it is the coveting of technology patents in China's new energy field.
In the international market, it is not uncommon for joint ventures to exchange for tariff reductions and exemptions, such as German cars Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, which enter China in the form of joint ventures for sale, but in terms of technology patents, the two countries should maintain a clear distinction between the two countries, rather than "forcibly grabbing"!
Moreover, the behavior of the European Union to pull the banner of tariffs to achieve the purpose of patent acquisition is even more unheard of, which can be described as "banditry"!
Ironically, there is still a lot of confidence in this move within the EU, and there are a number of insiders who are picking and choosing which foreign investment regulations to use to "persuade" Chinese companies!
But I don't want the mainland to make concessions at all, so the mainland announced that it will raise the import tariffs on large-displacement cars in Europe, so as to counteract the EU tariff policy!
So under the situation that it is difficult for China and the EU to reach an agreement on the new energy electric vehicle market, what changes will occur in the new energy electric vehicle market? Where will China-EU trade cooperation go in the future?
3. Future development prospects of the global new energy electric vehicle market
For the European Union, its desire to obtain China's new energy technology through coercion is also forced to helpless, and now with the many advantages of new energy electric vehicles compared with traditional fuel vehicles, it is the fuel vehicle market that Europe is proud of and further compressed!
Even Germany, which has the most advanced fuel vehicle technology in Europe, has begun to invest in the research of electric vehicles, and has continuously launched electric car products, but unfortunately there is a certain technical gap and the sales are dismal.
Even senior EU diplomats have made it clear in interviews that Europe has fallen behind in automotive research, from a former leader to a catch-up today. Therefore, in the future, the EU should not confront China, but should seek cooperation.
Among the many member states of the European Union, Hungary is also one of the countries that oppose the increase in EU tariffs.
This is due to the fact that Hungary, with its good trade with China and the lowest electricity price in Europe, will become the center of the construction of new energy factories in China and Europe in the future.
Some people familiar with the matter even broke the news that Hungary will comprehensively promote the plan to establish joint ventures with Chinese companies during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in the near future, and may cancel the policy of raising tariffs!
But in any case, the collaborative way of sharing technology is not realistic. At present, China's new energy electric vehicles can sell well all over the world, mainly relying on China's low cost of construction, is the advantage of technology.
Therefore, in the future, the mainland may further negotiate with the EU to sell some non-cutting-edge technologies, so as to open up the market in Europe in the form of joint ventures and achieve a win-win result for both parties.
And what is even more heart-wrenching is that even if Europe obtains the advanced new energy technology that China is currently mastering, it will not necessarily save the decline of the development of the European automotive industry.
This is due to the rapid development of the new energy electric vehicle industry, solid-state batteries and other technologies are constantly maturing, and the market pattern of new energy electric vehicles will usher in new changes in the future!
The EU tariff adjustment policy, also for the development of China's new energy industry sounded the alarm, new energy electric vehicles out of the country, to the world is not simple, and there are other car companies committed to solid-state batteries, hydrogen battery research and development, the future pattern of the world's new energy electric vehicle market is still in suspense!
Therefore, for China's new energy electric vehicle enterprises, it is still necessary to increase investment in scientific and technological research and development, master the core technology of enterprises, and strive to achieve technological breakthroughs, so as to take the initiative in the future competition in the new energy industry!
epilogue
Europe is jealous of a series of brilliant achievements in the field of new energy electric vehicles in China, so it has suppressed China's tariff increases, and wants to use tariffs to increase revenue to build joint venture car companies and master the mainland's advanced patented technology!
In the face of the EU's forcible seizure plan, the mainland refuses to make concessions, which will lead to increasingly fierce competition in the global new energy market in the future, and mainland car companies need to increase R&D investment and grasp development opportunities.
What do you have to say about the EU's offer of reconciliation and tariffs to force China to share technology with the EU? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.
Resources
Observer.com, June 19, 2024 "The EU was exposed to tariffs on China intended to force Chinese car companies to form joint ventures and share technology"
The Paper May 23, 2024 "EU tariffs are imminent, Chinese car companies are looking for a way to Europe"
Xinmin Evening News June 24, 2024 "EU Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles? Things seem to be quietly changing"