TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsEU seeks to rebalance trade relationship with China
The EU executive team including Sejourne will hold a special debate next Friday on how the 27-nation bloc should approach China to level the playing field.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
European Union flags flutter on the day European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde speaks to reporters following the Governing Council's monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sept. 12, 2024. (Reuters/Jana Rodenbusch)
T
he European Union must rebalance its trade relationship with China, the bloc's industry chief said Friday, as Brussels renews its focus on commerce ties with Beijing.
The European Union's goods trade deficit with China hit some 360 billion euros (US$418 billion) last year, and calls are growing to address the imbalance.
"Openness to trade, which is in Europe's DNA, remains a priority for us," vice president Stephane Sejourne said, but there needs to be "a rebalancing of trade, given that we currently have a deficit of over 360 billion euros with China".
The EU executive team including Sejourne will hold a special debate next Friday on how the 27-nation bloc should approach China to level the playing field.
A visit by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao to Brussels late next month is also under discussion, an EU official said.
Following the debate by the European Commission, European leaders will discuss the EU's trade ties with China during a summit in Brussels on June 18 and 19.
EU trade ministers meeting in Brussels Friday trod a fine line, stressing that the EU-China relationship was important, but more balance was needed.
China is "an important trading partner. But what I think we need to ensure is that there is a greater balance when it comes to that overall relationship", Irish trade minister Helen McEntee told reporters.
She said the EU needed to address "some of the risks, not least when we talk about rare earth minerals and the recent challenges that we've seen in the implications for our overall economy".
"It's a bit of a race, because our dependencies are there and our ability, our tools to build our sovereignty, independence in this area are increasing as well," Poland's Michal Baranowski said.
There have been trade frictions between China and the EU for months.
Tensions heightened especially after Beijing imposed export curbs on rare earths last year. The restrictions highlighted Europe's heavy dependence on rare earths from China, which is the world's top producer of the elements.
Brussels has also taken several steps to protect its market from what it describes as unfair Chinese competition, including slapping extra levies on small parcels from China.
