Senior trade officials from China and the European Union were concluding two days of talks on Friday aimed at easing rising tensions over growing trade imbalances between the two major economies.
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic visited Beijing, stressing that the negotiations must produce “tangible outcomes” to help rebalance trade between China and the 27-member bloc.
However, it remained uncertain whether the two sides could agree on measures to address the key causes of China’s expanding trade surplus, which reached 360 billion euros ($410 billion) last year.
China has urged the EU to lift restrictions on imports of advanced chipmaking equipment, which were introduced on national security grounds following pressure from Washington.
Sefcovic said this week’s discussions marked the culmination of three months of intensive work. He had set October as the deadline for achieving meaningful progress on trade rebalancing.
Earlier this week, China’s Commerce Ministry urged the EU to refrain from protectionist measures, warning that such actions could have unintended consequences.
Trade tensions have intensified in recent months as both sides have imposed or considered restrictions on imports from each other.
The EU has taken steps to curb imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles and EV batteries, introduced measures to protect its steel industry and moved to restrict duty-free imports of small e-commerce parcels, a measure largely targeting Chinese fast-fashion companies.
Last week, China launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of p-nitrotoluene from the EU. The chemical compound is used in the production of dyes and pharmaceuticals.
Chinese officials and businesses have also expressed concern over reports that some EU member states are pushing for additional measures to protect domestic industries.
Concerns about the rapid growth of Chinese exports to Europe and other global markets have increased, with some describing the trend as “China shock 2.0”. The concerns have intensified as the United States, particularly since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, has raised tariffs and introduced other measures to reduce its large trade deficit with Beijing.
Despite resistance from some trading partners, China’s global trade surplus reached $1.2 trillion in 2025 and is projected to exceed $1 trillion again this year.
EU statistics showed that the bloc’s trade deficit with China widened to 103.34 billion euros (about $116 billion) in the April-July period. Imports from China rose to 153.63 billion euros ($172.3 billion), while European exports to China increased to 50.3 billion euros ($56.4 billion).