Recently, the second regular meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism was held in Beijing. The two sides conducted pragmatic and fruitful discussions and formed a consensus list covering 16 outcomes including trade and investment balance, export control, intellectual property rights and World Trade Organization reform. In the current turbulent global trade order, China and the EU handle differences through dialogue rather than confrontation, which provides a buffer channel for bilateral economic and trade frictions and injects stability and certainty into the global economy.
Through equal dialogue and pragmatic consultation, this regular meeting will transform the willingness to manage differences into visible and actionable results. The two sides reaffirmed the stable and balanced positioning of China and Europe as key trading partners, and confirmed that they will handle economic and trade differences and mutual concerns in a balanced manner within the framework of WTO rules, discuss deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote China-EU trade to be more balanced and develop forward. Regarding the hybrid vehicle trade issue that is of great concern to the outside world, the two sides agreed to seek an understanding plan in accordance with WTO rules, effectively avoiding an escalation of the situation. In terms of export control, China stated that it will continue to facilitate the approval of export licenses for rare earths and permanent magnets to Europe through the "green channel" mechanism; the EU will continue to make progress in resolving key licensing cases with China in the dual-use field. Overall, this list covers many difficulties and blockages in the current China-EU economic and trade relations. The consensus reached not only takes into account each other's demands and core concerns, but also responds to the expectations of the industry. Both China and the EU recognized that "the successful convening of the second regular meeting is a new starting point, not the end."
This regular meeting was held at a time when China-EU economic and trade frictions continued to intensify, which alleviated market concerns to a certain extent. Since the beginning of this year, the EU has continued to increase pressure on China, with a strong smell of gunpowder. With the common will of both parties to exercise rational restraint and avoid friction out of control, the first meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism was held in June this year. Four working sections were set up under the mechanism: trade and investment balance, export control, intellectual property rights, and WTO reform, and continued communication was carried out in the following months. From setting up the framework at the first meeting to reaching consensus on 16 outcomes at this regular meeting, the two sides have proven through actions that China and the EU, as comprehensive strategic partners, can properly handle economic and trade differences through dialogue. As China has sincerely reminded many times, China is not the source of the problems faced by the EU, but a partner in solving them. Europe has a profound tradition of free trade and should not follow the trend, nor should it turn security anxiety into trade barriers. This will not only disrupt the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, but will ultimately be detrimental to the transformation and upgrading of Europe's own industries.
China-EU economic and trade relations have gone through half a century of ups and downs. Complementary advantages and mutual benefit and win-win results have always been the main thread running through the cooperation between the two sides. Economic and trade differences are only a phased phenomenon. At the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975, the annual trade volume between the two sides was only US$2.4 billion; by 2025, the volume of goods trade between China and Europe exceeded US$800 billion, and the total economic volume between China and Europe accounted for more than one-third of the world. The bilateral trade volume accounted for nearly a quarter of the world, and nearly half of the trade was intermediate goods trade. From automobiles and new energy to biomedicine and machinery and equipment, the industrial and supply chains of both parties are deeply intertwined and complement each other's advantages. The supply and demand markets are highly interdependent. They have already formed a community of interests in which "you have me, and I have you". This year is the first year of China’s “15th Five-Year Plan”. China will further promote the quality and efficiency of foreign trade, promote the balanced development of imports and exports, revise the catalog of encouraged imported technologies, products and services, and reduce the negative list for foreign investment access... These opening-up measures will provide broader market opportunities for countries around the world, including the EU, to promote transformation and stimulate innovation.
However, it should also be noted that the positive momentum brought about by this regular meeting does not mean that the deep differences in China-EU economic and trade relations have been resolved. Just before this regular meeting, some European politicians were still trying their best to push the EU to strengthen trade defense tools and speed up restrictions on Chinese companies' access to the European market. Faced with these challenges, China and the EU should overcome thorns through continuous dialogue, continue to further intensify work on important economic and trade issues of common concern, and promote the implementation of the consensus reached at regular meetings. The two sides have agreed to hold the third regular meeting in March 2027 and maintain close communication before then, including holding a ministerial video conference in January 2027. This institutionalized and normalized arrangement is an important guarantee for both sides to overcome differences and deepen cooperation.
In today's world, protectionism is unpopular, and open cooperation is the general trend. China and the EU should be partners of mutual trust rather than institutional rivals, and promoters of cooperation rather than creators of friction. Facing the future, China is willing to work with the EU to continue to resolve economic and trade differences through equal dialogue and consultation, continue to tap new potential and expand new space for cooperation, promote China-EU relations to return to a stable and healthy development momentum, and inject valuable certainty into a world economy full of uncertainties. (Author: Guo Yan)
