European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke at a press conference,
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that Europe must have tough talks with China over what it sees as unfair trade practices, echoing a call made a day earlier by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Speaking ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Beijing later this week, von der Leyen said European companies should enjoy the same market access in China as Chinese companies in Europe, Reuters quoted comments as saying.
She also urged German leaders to take a tough stance against Chinese authorities over overcapacity and unfair competition.
Earlier, Yellen told CNBC on Monday that she would not rule out any U.S. measures against China, including potential tariffs, amid concerns that Beijing is deliberately injecting cheap green energy products into international markets.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point. We need to put everything on the table. We want to work with China to see if we can find a solution,” she told CNBC’s Sarah Eisen.
China’s overcapacity concerns
China’s overcapacity has become a major focus of diplomatic tensions, with the United States and its allies arguing that overproduction and subsidized goods from China are weakening domestic companies.
China has denied the claims, with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao The rise of China’s green technology industry – including electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and lithium-ion batteries – is the result of “continuous innovation”, the Ministry of Commerce said.
It also questioned that the United States is subsidizing its own manufacturing industry through measures such as the Inflation Reduction Act.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen said on Monday that other countries may explore the possibility of imposing trade restrictions on China if an understanding cannot be reached.
The EU has so far resisted imposing such measures given its close trading ties with the world’s second-largest economy.
Berlin, in particular, has been reluctant to impose tariffs on Beijing’s electric vehicle industry for fear of retaliation against its own massive auto industry, which is Germany’s main export channel to China.
Speaking ahead of a three-day visit to China on Monday, German Chancellor Scholz expressed his skepticism about the need for such tariffs, a spokesman said, according to Reuters.Although the EU’s wider ongoing detection As a result, China’s subsidized electric vehicles are “dumped” into Europe.
Scholz will arrive in China on Sunday for a visit that will include meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.He will reportedly be joined by three ministers and several business executives media reports.
This is Schulz’s second visit since taking office as German Chancellor and his first visit since November 2022.
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