China Delegation Visits Brussels Over EV Tariffs

A delegation of senior-level Chinese trade officials is in Brussels this week ahead of a key vote later this month when EU member states will vote whether to approve punitive tariffs of up to 36.3 percent on China-made electric vehicles (EVs).

The group, headed by vice-commerce minister Li Fei, met with their EU counterparts on Monday, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unnamed sources.

The EU’s director general for trade Sabine Weyand led the talks on the EU side before briefing members of the European Parliament’s trade committee.

The meetings are reportedly intended to prepare the way for ministerial-level talks next week when Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao is to meet with EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

Tariff tension

Meanwhile in Beijing Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday met with visiting Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez, whom he urged to play a “constructive role” in improving trade tensions between China and the EU over EVs and other matters.

Sanchez said he hoped the two parties could avoid a trade war sparked by the EU tariffs.

He has previously said at business events that he would work for a negotiated consensus to resolve the EV dispute within the World Trade Organisation.

Xi talked with Sanchez on deepening the two countries’ commercial ties around AI, the digital economy, new energy and other tech-related fields.

He said he wanted to develop a China-EU relationship where both could succeed while remaining independent, according to local media reports.

“It is hoped Spain will continue to play a constructive role in this regard,” Xi said.

“Spain wants to work constructively so that relations between the two are closer, richer and more balanced,” Sanchez responded.

Retaliatory probes

In response to the proposed EV tariffs China has announced retaliatory probes into the EU’s alleged pork dumping and dairy subsidies, with Spain being a key pork exporter.

The EU’s tariffs are much lower than those of countries such as the US and Canada, which have both proposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese-made EV imports.

Chinese EV makers BYD, Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng recorded higher year-on-year sales in August in spite of the tariffs in the EU and elsewhere, with market leader BYD showing monthly new energy vehicle sales, including plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles, growing by 30 percent year-on-year to 373,083 units.

Battery electric vehicles grew by a more modest 12 percent.

Xpeng’s sales were up by 2.5 percent year-on-year to 14,036 and Nio sales grew 4 percent to 20,176.

Tesla’s China-made EVs grew by 3 percent for the month.