China, EU Trade Envoys Seek to Ease Tensions Over Trade Gap

BEIJING – China and the European Union were concluding two days of high-level trade discussions Friday as both sides sought to ease mounting friction over the widening imbalance between their economies.

EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic arrived in Beijing with a clear message: the talks needed to produce “tangible outcomes” aimed at bringing trade between China and the 27-member bloc back into balance.

Yet it remained uncertain whether negotiators could overcome the central disputes driving China’s expanding trade surplus, which reached 360 billion euros ($410 billion) last year.

Beijing is pressing the EU to lift restrictions on imports of advanced chipmaking equipment from China. The controls were introduced on national security grounds and followed pressure from Washington.

Sefcovic described this week’s negotiations as the result of three months of intensive preparation. He has set October as the deadline for securing concrete progress on trade rebalancing.

China’s Commerce Ministry called on the EU earlier this week to steer clear of protectionist policies, cautioning that efforts to shield domestic industries could ultimately produce unwanted consequences.

The negotiations come as trade relations have deteriorated, with China and the EU each introducing, weighing or threatening restrictions on imports from the other.

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The EU has taken steps to curb Chinese electric vehicle and battery imports, while also adopting safeguards for its steel producers. It is additionally tightening rules on duty-free small parcels ordered through e-commerce platforms, a move that would affect Chinese fast-fashion companies in particular.

China last week responded with an anti-dumping probe into p-nitrotoluene imported from the EU. The chemical is used in the production of dyes and pharmaceuticals.

Chinese officials and companies have also expressed concern about reports that several EU countries are advocating additional measures to defend their domestic industries.

Concerns about a fresh surge of Chinese exports to Europe and other global markets — described by some analysts as “China shock 2.0” — have intensified as the United States, particularly since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, has raised tariffs and pursued other policies to narrow its substantial trade deficit with Beijing.

China’s worldwide trade surplus nevertheless reached $1.2 trillion in 2025, despite resistance from some trading partners, and is projected to exceed $1 trillion again this year.

EU figures show that the bloc’s trade deficit with China expanded to 103.34 billion euros, or roughly $116 billion, during the April-July quarter. Imports climbed to 153.63 billion euros ($172.3 billion), while European exports to China rose to 50.3 billion euros ($56.4 billion).