On October 4th, the European Union changed dramatically, a vote on the imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles was quietly held, and the news shocked our Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
So eight days later, on October 12, China's Ministry of Commerce quickly held a press conference without saying a word, and had a head-on confrontation with the EU on this tariff issue.
On October 14, the President of the European Commission, Ms. von der Leyen, the "Iron Lady" suddenly dropped a bombshell after meeting with Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Von der Leyen has three conditions, which are easy to say but difficult to do.
One is that China has to pay for the losses of European companies, that is, European car companies can't sell China, and China has to pay money to compensate others, clearly asking China to admit its mistakes.
The second condition is that Chinese companies need to raise prices when selling cars in the European market, so that Chinese electric vehicles are not allowed to fight price wars in the European market, so that European car companies can have a way to survive.
The last one is for China to invest money in Europe and make an agreement, which sounds good, but in fact wants China to throw money at Europe.
Three conditions have stumped China, which has said that it can raise the minimum price of electric vehicles exported to Europe to 30,000 euros, which is already a big concession.
Von der Leyen's side is still unrelenting, and the EU has to negotiate with each Chinese company individually, or it is unwilling to reach an overall agreement.
Chinese companies are going crazy, so why bother with the EU? Can't we do business well?
Things seemed to be stalemate, and suddenly a voice jumped out, this voice came from United Kingdom, and it was the United Kingdom Minister of Commerce and Trade Jonathan himself who stepped in.
On October 14, Jonathan spoke at the International Investment Summit, and everyone present was stunned, saying that United Kingdom would not follow the EU in imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Jonathan also said that United Kingdom wants to have "more contact" with China, which is what we often call "more communication", does United Kingdom want to have good relations with China?
Jonathan also said that at present, no companies have raised the issue of tariffs with the government, and the words are not leaky, which means, everyone has no opinion, why should we ask for trouble?
Finally, Jonathan also threw a bombshell, saying that United Kingdom's main goal is to find a prosperous and open export market for its own enterprises, and the overtone is that United Kingdom values the Chinese market of 1.4 billion people, not just electric vehicle products.
There are endless discussions within the EU, Germany has opposed this proposal, and now United Kingdom has publicly stated that it is on China's side, and the EU is really not a person inside and outside.
Speaking of Germany, as the "big brother" of the European Union, although Germany is one of the five countries that oppose the proposal, it still failed to prevent the proposal from passing.
EU member states are not worried one by one, Germany, the "big brother", can not speak, United Kingdom is good, directly on the side of China, let von der Leyen feel embarrassed.
On the surface, it gives China a way out, but in fact it still requires China to pay additional costs, which is a clear "sinister intention", and in the final analysis, it still wants to maximize benefits.
On the other hand, United Kingdom is playing a beautiful diplomatic card, Brexit for nearly 5 years, United Kingdom's choice this time can be described as clever, people value the large market of 1.4 billion people, how can care about a small electric car tariff?
The EU will impose tariffs on its side, and it will not be unified internally, and if it is not imposed, it will seem faceless, and it will be difficult to ride a tiger.
China, on the other hand, has been more indifferent, offering a proposal to raise the minimum price of electric vehicles to 30,000 euros, but preferring to reach an overall agreement that applies to all Chinese automakers.
It not only expresses the attitude of doing business sincerely, but also does not lose its own principles, which can be said to be both reasonable and popular.
The current situation can be said to be complicated, the EU side von der Leyen sings a hard tone, Germany secretly competes, United Kingdom openly sides, China is unchanged to respond to all changes, as stable as Mount Tai.
How will the tariff war end?
How will China respond to these challenges?
References:
Germany Finance Minister: Oppose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles The European Commission should not trigger trade conflicts 2024-10-04 20:39·CCTV News
British Trade Secretary said he does not plan to follow the EU in raising taxes on Chinese electric vehicles 2024-10-15 13:44· People's Daily
Red Star Watch丨China-EU electric vehicle tariff negotiations are deadlocked, highlighting the intensification of divisions within the EU 2024-10-14 16:16· Red Star News
Foreign media: This time about China's vote, there are "deep differences" within the EU 2024-10-06 13:10 · Reference news
British media: EU admits that it is still negotiating with China on electric vehicles 2024-10-15 20:30 · Reference news
Ministry of Commerce: The European side has been officially invited to continue consultations in China on the anti-subsidy case for electric vehicles 2024-10-12 20:37· Xinhua News Agency