Chinese firms in Europe call for ‘substantive' deal at China-EU summit
They called for a reduction in trade barriers and political interference, stressing that Beijing and Brussels needed to find a compromise on thorny issues such as electric vehicles and rare earth exports, as both faced a common threat in US President Donald Trump's tariff war.
'We the business community hold high expectations, hoping that China and Europe can seize this historic opportunity to achieve substantive results' at the summit, said Fang Dongkui, secretary general of the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU).
The comments come as Chinese and European leaders
remain divided over a slew of issues ahead of a highly anticipated leaders' meeting on Thursday, which will be chaired by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, as well as Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
President Xi Jinping will also meet von der Leyen and Costa during their stay in Beijing this week, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.
China–EU economic ties should not be hijacked by geopolitics, but should instead serve as a stabiliser and engine for global trade
Fang Dongkui, CCCEU
The CCCEU hopes the two sides can broker a deal to remove trade barriers in several areas, including the EU's tariffs targeting Chinese electric vehicles, Fang told the Post.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
15 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Alibaba, Meituan, JD.com commit to truce after regulator calls for ‘rational' competition
China's top three on-demand delivery service operators – Alibaba Group Holding, Meituan and – have publicly announced an 'anti-involution' commitment, signalling a truce in their brutal price war. Advertisement On Friday, the three companies vowed to engage in 'rational' competition and resist offering excessive subsidies, according to separate statements published two weeks after China's market regulator urged them to stop engaging in excessive competition, known locally as 'involution'. Alibaba, which operates Taobao and owns the South China Morning Post. Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares gained 1 per cent on Friday while Meituan gained 0.5 per cent, despite a broad decline in the Hang Seng stock index. was down 0.2 per cent The fierce competition between the instant commerce giants was exemplified last month, when they offered consumers incentives such as free cups of milk tea and free lunchboxes. All three companies offered such freebies along with eye-popping discounts to catch consumer attention. The (left) and Meituan logos are shown on smartphone screens in this arranged photograph. Photo: Shutterstock Images China's State Administration for Market Regulation, the country's market regulator, summoned Alibaba 's along with Meituan and , in late July, urging them to regulate promotional behaviour and engage in 'rational' competition. Advertisement The meeting aimed to 'further regulate promotional behaviour, encourage rational competition, and foster a healthy ecosystem and a win-win situation for consumers, merchants, delivery riders, and platform operators', the regulator said.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese EVs are making inroads in Singapore, here's why
Singaporean financial adviser Winnie Koh faced a dilemma when selecting her family's next car – she appreciated the value for money offered by Chinese electric vehicle ( EV ) brands, but still had lingering concerns about their quality. But the 30-year-old said her experience driving a Tesla in the US raised doubts about the brand's battery life and durability, leading her to consider Chinese rival BYD , which was offering incentives such as a 20 per cent discount on charging for three years and support for Singapore 's notoriously expensive Certificate of entitlement ( COE ). 'It is Chinese technology, but that's never really been the problem; the technology out of China has always been good,' she told This Week in Asia, adding that her main concern was whether the manufacturers were cutting corners during production. Koh eventually settled on a BYD in January for S$164,888 (US$127,000), and said she has been pleasantly surprised by its performance and features, including keyless start, a 360-degree camera system and assisted driving. Her decision is emblematic of a broader trend on Singapore's roads, where Chinese electric cars are quickly gaining traction and, often surpassing traditional competitors from Japan Europe , and the US. Financial adviser Winnie Koh bought her BYD Atto 3 in January after being influenced by the vehicle's affordability and the charging promotions available. Photo: Winnie Koh
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
US faces costly isolation as ‘world minus one' cooperation grows
US President Donald Trump's 'flood the zone' strategy – intended to keep the world's media so busy with his narratives they have no capacity to generate their own – is set to change this weekend. After three months focused largely on tariffs and coercive trade deals (with unwelcome distractions from Ukraine, Gaza and Jeffrey Epstein ), his administration is due to deliver the fruits of a 180-day State Department review of all multilateral organisations, conventions and treaties, and 'provide recommendations as to whether the United States should withdraw' from them. Given Trump's allergy to multilateralism, there is little expectation of a balanced overview with nuanced recommendations. The California-based Carnegie Foundation, for instance, expects the review to be 'a wrecking ball exercise with a predetermined outcome', bluntly pointing out its 'potential to upend decades of American global engagement' and 'lead to a US abrogation of thousands of treaties and a departure from hundreds of multilateral organisations'. Most of these will have been of America's making – the product of eight decades of diplomatic investment.
