On Thursday, March 27, and Friday, March 28, 2025, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič held meetings with Chinese government representatives in Beijing.
Commissioner Šefčovič discussed with Vice Premier He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and Customs Minister Sun Meijun on how to improve and rebalance EU-China trade and investment relations.
Discussions included systemic issues, the need for a level playing field for European companies in the Chinese market, key market access issues, and investments in the electric vehicles supply chain.
Commissioner Šefčovič and Minister Wang agreed to follow up closely on their discussions through regular contact to provide political direction and ensure progress on all discussed files, including the market access issues highlighted by the EU. They agreed to have a dialogue covering all trade and investment issues related to the electric vehicles supply chain, to contribute to long-term European competitiveness and quality jobs.
Commissioner Šefčovič and Minister Sun agreed to set up a working group on agri-food market access and explore a potential roadmap for revising the 2024 EU-China Customs Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Agreement.
Background
This was the first visit to China by a member of the College under the new European Commission.
In 2025, the EU and China celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. China is a key trading partner for the EU, with a substantial trade relationship worth €730 billion; it represents the EUs third largest trading partner and the second largest partner for trade in goods.
Current EU-China trade relations remain unbalanced, lacking a level playing field, with a trade deficit in goods widening over the last decade, fueled by illegal subsidies. The EU-China trade deficit in 2024 reached €304.5 billion; while still below 2022 figures (€397 billion), it marked an all-time high in volume.
In 2024, Chinese FDI into the EU reached the highest value in the last five years, with a cumulative value of €185 billion; in the same period, EU FDI in China remained stable, with a cumulative value of €184 billion.
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