China and the European Union have held “comprehensive, in-depth and constructive” consultations on an anti-subsidy investigation launched by the EU Commission into Chinese electric cars.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis reported positive progress in talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Thursday. The talks come as China seeks an agreement with the European Union to prevent the imposition of high tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) exported to EU countries.
The meeting comes amid growing disagreement in Europe over the proposed tariffs, with Spain last week calling on the EU to “rethink” plans to impose duties of up to 36 per cent on Chinese electric vehicles, joining Germany in its opposition. Dombrovskis said on X:
“Constructive meeting with Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao. Both sides agreed to intensify efforts to find an effective, enforceable and WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible solution.”
Wang also spoke to business representatives from the EV sector in Brussels on Wednesday, before saying in a statement that China “[will] certainly persevere until the final moments of the consultations.”
According to a statement from China’s Ministry of Commerce, the two sides held “comprehensive, in-depth and constructive consultations on the EU’s electric vehicle anti-subsidy case against China.”
The statement added that the two sides “expressed their political will to resolve their differences through consultations, agreed to continue to push forward the negotiations on the price commitment agreement.”
