EU-China trade talks begin in Beijing amid escalating pressure

Talks will focus on the €1 billion daily deficit and rare earth export restrictions.

European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic speaks at the European Parliament session in Strasbourg, France, on October 6, 2026 [Olivier Matthys/EPA]

European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic has arrived in Beijing for talks on the European Union’s (EU) growing trade deficit with China.

Sefcovic will meet Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Thursday and Friday after months of discussions over the EU’s trade deficit of more than €1bn ($1.12bn) daily, as well as Chinese curbs on exports of rare earths and other critical minerals.

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Meanwhile, Chinese companies are increasingly challenging Europe’s top car brands. China rejected the EU request for voluntary curbs on Chinese hybrid car exports as the two sides enter negotiations, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The European Commission now hopes to get Beijing to accept a unilateral EU measure to cap hybrid imports instead, the outlet said, citing two diplomats briefed on the plan.

The two days of discussions come just as a majority of EU lawmakers called for a more assertive trade policy towards Beijing in a non-binding resolution on Wednesday. China vowed a “resolute response” to safeguard its industries if the European Union goes ahead with restrictions against Chinese companies or products, according to its commerce ministry.

Germany and France propose rapid EU measure

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, leaders of the bloc’s two biggest powers, on Tuesday urged the EU to prepare a “credible instrument” that could be quickly activated to strike back against countries that harm the bloc economically.

The new measure would not target any specific country. German officials said the EU needed a tool as powerful as the Section 301 tariffs imposed by the United States or China’s restrictions on critical-mineral exports.

The proposed weapon – to be discussed at an EU leaders’ summit next week – would give the European Commission the power to respond to a trade aggression within days.

China responded to the letter by urging Paris and Berlin to steer clear of “protectionist” measures.

“We hope that France and Germany, as major economies in the world, will uphold openness, cooperation and free trade,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

“They should avoid going down the wrong path in the wrong way, only to ultimately suffer the consequences themselves.”

G20 finance leaders, except China’s, agreed in September to act against “non-market” distortions that exacerbate imbalances. Beijing says that hyping up issues such as economic imbalances and overcapacity is a form of protectionism designed to exert pressure on and restrict China.

EU and Chinese officials have been discussing trade imbalances since June. Sefcovic said he wanted “tangible results by October” as well as some form of commitment that can be put to EU leaders meeting in Brussels.

Trade relations with China top the summit’s agenda next week, as ballooning debt has prompted auditors to warn about the next seven-year EU budget and has spurred protests in France.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament last month that the trade imbalance had reached a tipping point and that Europe would use every tool at its disposal to rebalance the relationship.

会谈将重点讨论每日10亿欧元的稀土缺口和稀土出口限制问题。

2026年10月6日，欧盟贸易和经济安全专员马罗斯·塞夫科维奇在法国斯特拉斯堡举行的欧洲议会会议上发表讲话。[Olivier Matthys/EPA]

欧盟贸易专员马罗斯·塞夫科维奇已抵达北京，就欧盟对华贸易逆差不断扩大的问题展开会谈。

在就欧盟每天超过 10 亿欧元（11.2 亿美元）的贸易逆差以及中国限制稀土和其他关键矿产出口等问题进行了数月的讨论之后，塞夫科维奇将于周四和周五会见中国商务部长王文涛。

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科科·高芙表示，在中国公开赛出局后，网络上的种族歧视言论让她“精疲力竭”（共3条记录，此为第2条）。

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与此同时，中国企业正日益挑战欧洲顶级汽车品牌。据《金融时报》周三报道，中方拒绝了欧盟提出的自愿限制中国混合动力汽车出口的要求，双方已就此展开谈判。该报援引两位了解该计划的外交官的话称，欧盟委员会现在希望促使北京接受欧盟单方面限制混合动力汽车进口的措施。

就在欧盟多数议员周三通过一项不具约束力的决议，呼吁对北京采取更强硬的贸易政策之际，双方举行了为期两天的会谈。中国商务部表示，如果欧盟继续对中国企业或产品实施限制，中国将采取“坚决回应”来保护本国产业。

德国和法国提议欧盟迅速采取措施

周二，欧盟两大强国的领导人——法国总统马克龙和德国总理默茨敦促欧盟准备一项“可信的工具”，以便在经济上打击损害欧盟的国家时能够迅速启动。

这项新措施不会针对任何特定国家。德国官员表示，欧盟需要一种像美国实施的301条款关税或中国对关键矿产出口的限制那样强有力的工具。

这项拟议中的武器——将在下周的欧盟领导人峰会上进行讨论——将赋予欧盟委员会在几天内对贸易侵略做出反应的权力。

中国对此信作出回应，敦促巴黎和柏林避免采取“保护主义”措施。

“我们希望法国和德国作为世界主要经济体，能够坚持开放、合作和自由贸易，”商务部在一份声明中表示。

“他们应该避免走上错误的道路，用错误的方式行事，最终只会自食其果。”

除中国外，二十国集团（G20）财长们在9月份达成一致，将采取行动应对加剧经济失衡的“非市场”扭曲因素。北京方面则表示，夸大经济失衡和产能过剩等问题是一种保护主义行径，旨在对中国施加压力并限制其发展。

自6月以来，欧盟和中国官员一直在讨论贸易不平衡问题。谢夫科维奇表示，他希望“在10月前取得切实成果”，并希望双方做出某种承诺，以便提交给在布鲁塞尔举行的欧盟领导人会议。

下周峰会的首要议题是与中国的贸易关系，因为不断膨胀的债务促使审计人员对欧盟未来七年的预算发出警告，并引发了法国的抗议活动。

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩上个月在欧洲议会表示，贸易失衡已经达到临界点，欧洲将利用一切可用手段来重新平衡这种关系。