Latest news with #tradeDisputes
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
China confirms Xi meeting with EU's von der Leyen, Costa
BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters) - China confirmed on Monday it will hold a top-level summit with the European Union in Beijing this week marking 50 years of diplomatic ties as both sides seek to navigate trade disputes amid broader global trade uncertainties. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will visit China on Thursday and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. China's Premier Li Qiang will be co-chairing the 25th China-EU summit with the EU leaders the same day. The meeting comes as global trade frictions heat up, with Beijing seeking to secure closer economic and political ties with the bloc to hedge against uncertainties in its relations with the United States. EU-China relations deteriorated sharply in 2021 when Brussels sanctioned Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, a move that saw swift retaliatory sanctions from Beijing, halting much of bilateral exchanges. Relations have also been marred by various trade disputes in recent years, including those over Chinese-made electric vehicles, European brandy and pork, government purchases of medical devices, and rare earths. In a recent speech, von der Leyen praised China's economic progress but said the country had flooded global markets with its overcapacity, limited access to its market, and de-facto enabled Russia's war economy. The bloc, which calls China "a partner for cooperation, an economic competitor and a systemic rival," has also said it saw the need to thaw ties amid global trade uncertainties. After U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs in April, von der Leyen told China's Premier Li in a phone call that it was EU and China's responsibility "to support a strong reformed trading system, free, fair and founded on a level playing field."
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China retaliates against EU with a ban on European medical devices
BANGKOK (AP) — China said Sunday that European medical device companies will be barred from selling to the Chinese government as a countermeasure for the European Union's restrictions on the sale of similar products from China. European companies will be excluded if the budget for procurement is above 45 million yuan ($6.28 million), according to a notice from the Finance Ministry on Sunday with the restrictions in place the same day. The move will not apply to European companies that have invested in China and that manufacture goods in the country. China on Friday imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France. While the duties on brandy include several exceptions for major brandy producers, China and the EU have multiple trade disputes across a range of industries. China protested after many European countries levied duties on EVs made in China. Since then, China has also launched investigations into European pork and dairy products. In June, the EU announced that Chinese companies were to be excluded from any government purchases of more than 5 million euros ($5.89 million). The measure seeks to incentivise China to cease its discrimination against EU firms, the EU said, accusing China of erecting "significant and recurring legal and administrative barriers to its procurement market.' In response, China has said it had 'no choice but to implement countermeasures.' 'China has repeatedly expressed through bilateral dialogues that it is willing to properly handle differences with the EU through dialogue and consultation and bilateral government procurement arrangements,' said a statement from a spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce. 'Unfortunately, the EU has ignored China's goodwill and sincerity and still insisted on taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers.'
Associated Press
06-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
China retaliates against EU with a ban on European medical devices
BANGKOK (AP) — China said Sunday that European medical device companies will be barred from selling to the Chinese government as a countermeasure for the European Union's restrictions on the sale of similar products from China. European companies will be excluded if the budget for procurement is above 45 million yuan ($6.28 million), according to a notice from the Finance Ministry on Sunday with the restrictions in place the same day. The move will not apply to European companies that have invested in China and that manufacture goods in the country. China on Friday imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France. While the duties on brandy include several exceptions for major brandy producers, China and the EU have multiple trade disputes across a range of industries. China protested after many European countries levied duties on EVs made in China. Since then, China has also launched investigations into European pork and dairy products. In June, the EU announced that Chinese companies were to be excluded from any government purchases of more than 5 million euros ($5.89 million). The measure seeks to incentivise China to cease its discrimination against EU firms, the EU said, accusing China of erecting 'significant and recurring legal and administrative barriers to its procurement market.' In response, China has said it had 'no choice but to implement countermeasures.' 'China has repeatedly expressed through bilateral dialogues that it is willing to properly handle differences with the EU through dialogue and consultation and bilateral government procurement arrangements,' said a statement from a spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce. 'Unfortunately, the EU has ignored China's goodwill and sincerity and still insisted on taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers.'
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China retaliates against EU with a ban on European medical devices
BANGKOK (AP) — China said Sunday that European medical device companies will be barred from selling to the Chinese government as a countermeasure for the European Union's restrictions on the sale of similar products from China. European companies will be excluded if the budget for procurement is above 45 million yuan ($6.28 million), according to a notice from the Finance Ministry on Sunday with the restrictions in place the same day. The move will not apply to European companies that have invested in China and that manufacture goods in the country. China on Friday imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France. While the duties on brandy include several exceptions for major brandy producers, China and the EU have multiple trade disputes across a range of industries. China protested after many European countries levied duties on EVs made in China. Since then, China has also launched investigations into European pork and dairy products. In June, the EU announced that Chinese companies were to be excluded from any government purchases of more than 5 million euros ($5.89 million). The measure seeks to incentivise China to cease its discrimination against EU firms, the EU said, accusing China of erecting "significant and recurring legal and administrative barriers to its procurement market.' In response, China has said it had 'no choice but to implement countermeasures.' 'China has repeatedly expressed through bilateral dialogues that it is willing to properly handle differences with the EU through dialogue and consultation and bilateral government procurement arrangements,' said a statement from a spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce. 'Unfortunately, the EU has ignored China's goodwill and sincerity and still insisted on taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers.' Huizhong Wu, The Associated Press
South China Morning Post
04-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China-EU trade tensions rise as Beijing levies anti-dumping tariffs on European brandy
Announcement comes as Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Europe trying to resolve trade disputes, and one analyst says Beijing is 'clearly disappointed by the EU playing hardball' China has decided to levy anti-dumping tariffs on European brandy, mostly produced in France, for the next five years – an announcement made while Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on his European tour seeking to resolve trade disputes and improve ties amid a reshuffle of global trade dynamics introduced by the United States. 'There is dumping of related imported brandy from the EU, the domestic brandy industry faces a material threat of injury, and there is a causal relationship between the dumping and the material injury threat. The determined dumping margins range from 27.7 per cent to 34.9 per cent,' China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. The tariffs will take effect from Saturday, and there will be no retroactive imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of the relevant brandy originating from the EU from October 11 up to and including Friday. 'Beijing has been holding back from actually levying duties in the hope of a softer EU stance on China,' said Xu Tianchen, senior China economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. 'Now it's clearly disappointed by the EU playing hardball despite the Chinese overture.' China's foreign minister was set to visit Paris on his tour, and the tariff announcement came a day before the July 5 deadline when China's anti-dumping investigation was supposed to conclude. Wang's trip has also been seen as preparation for the China-EU summit later this month. The EU-China relations are not going well before the summit Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Natixis 'The tensions are clear, phase three investigations are open, and there are also ones on pork and dairy,' said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist at French investment bank Natixis. 'Every time the EU commission says, 'we're done, no high economic dialogue', which is what has happened, China will come with one investigation, let alone export control. They have a lot of leverage. Newsletter Daily, Monday to Friday China at a Glance By submitting, you consent to receiving marketing emails from SCMP. If you don't want these, tick here {{message}} Thanks for signing up for our newsletter! Please check your email to confirm your subscription. Follow us on Facebook to get our latest news. 'I think the [EU] commission needs to first wait for a deal with [US President Donald] Trump. They're not going to risk it. Secondly, beyond Trump, they're done – they feel they are always retaliated against, there is no goodwill. The EU-China relations are not going well before the summit.' China also announced that exporters who had agreed to a minimum export price would be exempt from anti-dumping duties. 'The decision to accept price undertakings in this case once again demonstrates China's sincerity in resolving trade frictions through dialogue and consultation,' a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said. 'It is hoped that the EU side will move in the same direction, strengthen dialogue and communication, jointly resolve economic and trade differences, and create favourable conditions for consolidating and expanding China-EU economic and trade cooperation.' Chinese bars wary after new tariffs announced on European brandy imports Lynn Song, chief Greater China economist at ING, said: 'The decision was postponed a few times as China and the EU attempted to strengthen trade ties amid a broader environment of trade tension, but another postponement was not granted, possibly given the lack of progress on the trade front. 'However, the tariffs will also feature clauses that will allow for various exemptions, and I do not think it is a move that jeopardises trade relations, and could end up raising the urgency for talks after a lull period.' While expressing dismay at China's announcement of the tariffs, French cognac makers acknowledged that the tax exemptions offered to the companies that committed to a minimum export price could help the industry avoid a worst-case scenario. 'This decision marks the end of the anti-dumping investigation, but not the end of our efforts to ensure that all of our exporters regain unimpeded access to the Chinese market as quickly as possible,' said Florent Morillon, president of the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, France's leading representative for the cognac industry. 'In the meantime, the minimum price undertaking regime offers more tolerable conditions for our companies than the final anti-dumping duties announced, even if the market access that it allows remains impaired.' The French foreign and trade ministries did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment. Smaller producers who did not sign on for the price floor, and those focusing on the lower price markets, will feel most of the impact of this decision, Guilhem Grosperrin, director of the Grosperrin family brand, told the Post. The minimum import price negotiated between China and cognac producers starts at 46 yuan (US$6.42) per litre and goes all the way up to 613 yuan per litre, depending on the quality level, according to Grosperrin. 'We regret the decision to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on EU wine-based and marc-based spirits producers, despite the clear evidence presented to the contrary,' said Herve Dumesny, director general of the SpiritsEurope trade group. 'Beyond its direct impact on our sector, this decision risks fuelling trade tensions at a time when mutual cooperation is more important than ever.'
