According to the official website of the Ministry of Commerce, on the afternoon of April 8, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao held a video meeting with Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission's Executive Vice President for Trade and Economic Security. The two sides had an in-depth and candid exchange of views on strengthening China-EU economic and trade cooperation and addressing the US's so-called "reciprocal tariff hikes."
Wang Wentao stated that Premier Li Qiang had just had a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, sending a positive message to the outside world. China is willing to work with the EU to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of China and the EU, strengthen communication and exchanges, and deepen China-EU trade, investment, and industrial cooperation.
Wang Wentao pointed out that the US's so-called "reciprocal tariff hikes" seriously infringe on the legitimate interests of various countries, severely violate WTO rules, seriously damage the rules-based multilateral trading system, and severely impact the stability of the global economic order. It is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying. China firmly opposes this and has taken countermeasures to resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests. Yesterday, the US threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on China, which is adding insult to injury. There are no winners in a trade war, and protectionism has no way out. China is willing to resolve differences through consultations and negotiations, but if the US persists in its course, China will certainly respond in kind.
Wang Wentao emphasized that under the current circumstances, China and the EU jointly maintaining the rules-based multilateral trading system and adhering to trade liberalization and facilitation will inject more stability and certainty into the world economy and global trade.
Dombrovskis stated that the US's tariff hikes have severely impacted international trade, causing serious effects on the EU, China, and vulnerable countries. The US accounts for only 13% of global goods trade. The EU is willing to work with other WTO members, including China, to jointly ensure the normal operation of global trade. The EU values its economic and trade relations with China and is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with China to promote the expansion of two-way market access, investment, and industrial cooperation.
Both sides agreed to launch consultations as soon as possible to discuss market access issues in depth, create a more favorable business environment for enterprises, and immediately start negotiations on EV price commitments, as well as discuss China-EU automotive industry investment cooperation. Both sides support the restart of the China-EU trade remedy dialogue mechanism, discuss trade diversion issues, and properly handle trade frictions. Both sides stated that they will continue to strengthen communication within the WTO framework, jointly promote WTO reform, and maintain the WTO-centered multilateral trading system.