Rebuttal of EU's Export Policy Critiqued by China Ahead of Talks
In anticipation of the summit with EU representatives, China has chastised Brussels' export policy as illogical. As Foreign Office spokesperson Wang Wenbin put it, "If the European side imposes stringent constraints on the export of high-tech products to China while simultaneously aiming to significantly enhance exports to China, this is not necessarily in line with rationality."
The context for this critique is the substantial trade deficit in China's favor, which will serve as a topic of discussion during the EU delegation led by Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's meeting with Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Von der Leyen had expressed her intentions prior to departing for Beijing, stating that European heads of state and government will not accept the perpetuation of an unfair trade balance. The EU has available tools to safeguard its market, but the preference is for a negotiated resolution.
According to EU statistics, the trade deficit has recently surpassed €390 billion. Wang Wenbin contested these figures on Wednesday, stating that the data did not accurately portray the genuine trade exchange between Europe and China. More than a third of European companies' export volume in China is redistributed to Europe, which leads Wang to conclude that China has a trade surplus, but Europe receives a substantial portion of the profits.
Beyond the trade deficit, EU representatives plan to examine the unbalanced competitive conditions for European companies in China. In contrast, China is expected to examine Brussels' continuing investigation into Chinese electric vehicle subsidies and the EU's intentions to minimize dependency on China in vital sectors.
