{"id":26762,"date":"2026-10-11T00:13:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T23:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/?p=26762"},"modified":"2026-10-11T00:13:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T23:13:29","slug":"brussels-wants-china-to-shrink-its-1bn-daily-trade-surplus-and-talks-have-started-in-beijing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/2026\/10\/11\/brussels-wants-china-to-shrink-its-1bn-daily-trade-surplus-and-talks-have-started-in-beijing\/","title":{"rendered":"Brussels wants China to shrink its \u20ac1bn daily trade surplus, and talks have started in Beijing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic opened two days of talks in Beijing on Thursday, 8 October, pressing China to start correcting a trade deficit he calls \u201cunsustainable\u201d.<\/p>\n<section aria-labelledby=\"hpd-nfnmyipv-inrtzyj-hlesdml-zofjqh\" class=\"auk-zvimcvi-inrtzyj\" lang=\"en\">\n<h2 id=\"hpd-nfnmyipv-inrtzyj-hlesdml-zofjqh\">In brief<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As DW reports, Sefcovic held talks in the Chinese capital with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, after first meeting representatives of European companies working in China.<\/li>\n<li>Linked to that last point, the EU also wants clearer export-licensing arrangements for rare earths and other materials, since China introduced restrictions last year.<\/li>\n<li>Ignacio Garcia Bercero of the think tank Bruegel said an export-restraint agreement in a single sector could be tested.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/eu-envoy-in-beijing-for-talks-to-calm-trade-tensions\/a-79598713\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">DW<\/a> reports, Sefcovic held talks in the Chinese capital with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, after first meeting representatives of European companies working in China. Of that corporate session he said: \u201cThe message around the table was clear: the need to improve access to the Chinese market, while boosting our economic security,\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Negotiators from Brussels and Beijing have been in contact since June. Sefcovic had said he wanted \u201ctangible results by October\u201d, so this week\u2019s visit falls inside the timetable he set. Of his first day he said: \u201cDay one in China, with one goal: begin rebalancing our &#8230; unsustainable trade deficit,\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Brussels calls the gap unsustainable<\/h2>\n<div class=\"auk-kmrcibp\">\n<div class=\"auk-fsnsbv\"><strong class=\"auk-fsnsbv__fvtkh\">\u20ac1 billion<\/strong><span class=\"auk-fsnsbv__ppkniutc\">Daily surplus of Chinese exports of goods and services over EU flows to China, according to European figures<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"auk-fsnsbv\"><strong class=\"auk-fsnsbv__fvtkh\">Since 2022<\/strong><span class=\"auk-fsnsbv__ppkniutc\">The deficit is at its highest level in that period, according to EU figures<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The daily gap is the headline number, but the trend matters too: EU figures put the deficit at its highest since 2022. Many in Europe blame the imbalance on unfair Chinese trade practices, including state subsidies and price dumping that undercut European rivals.<\/p>\n<p>A month ago, Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the European Commission, cautioned that the imbalance:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"auk-pocmgnt\">\n<p>\u201cleads to deindustrialization in the industrial heartlands of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament\u2019s trade committee, says: \u201cThe EU has a well-supplied toolbox to counter unfair subsidies, dumping, discriminatory procurement and economic coercion.\u201d His view that China\u2019s economic difficulties hand the bloc bargaining power is his own opinion.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"hpd-nfnmyipv-imzntj-gogcn\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Container terminal cranes on the waterfront under a cloudy sky.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/container-terminal-cranes-on-the-waterfront-under-cloudy-sky.jpg\" \/><figcaption>Container cranes at a busy port, a reminder of the trade flows behind the daily surplus Brussels wants to shrink. <span class=\"auk-gogcn-ertkm\" data-provider=\"pexels\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/panoramic-view-of-hamburg-container-terminal-29278107\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Pexels<\/a>. Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/panoramic-view-of-hamburg-container-terminal-29278107\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Wolfgang Weiser<\/a>. License: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Pexels License<\/a>.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What the EU is asking for<\/h2>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelnewsasia.com\/east-asia\/china-eu-trade-war-deficit-unsustainable-6442226\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CNA<\/a>, Sefcovic has set three priorities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>curbing the surge in imports in strategically important sectors;<\/li>\n<li>increasing European exports to the Chinese market;<\/li>\n<li>securing access to critical raw materials.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Linked to that last point, the EU also wants clearer export-licensing arrangements for rare earths and other materials, since China introduced restrictions last year. CNA assesses that Europe could face supply cuts or obstacles to its exports if relations worsened; that is an evaluation of risk, not a measure announced by Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>Sefcovic also said: \u201cWe\u2019re working hard to rebalance EU-China trade,\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2>Cars, quotas and a split over tactics<\/h2>\n<p>Hybrid cars are the sharpest point of friction. Diplomats cited by DW say China has rejected calls to limit its hybrid exports to the bloc voluntarily, and Beijing firmly opposes import quotas. Brussels could, for its part, temporarily curb Chinese car imports through quotas and tariffs, according to DW.<\/p>\n<p>According to a letter seen by AFP, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz call for a \u201ccredible instrument\u201d to respond quickly to any escalation by Beijing, without explicitly naming China. It would let the Commission respond within days. EU leaders are expected to discuss relations with China at a summit in Brussels next week.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, China\u2019s commerce ministry warned Paris and Berlin against \u201cprotectionist\u201d measures. Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that \u201cresolving economic and trade differences through equal dialogue and consultation is in the common interests of both China and the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Modest expectations for the outcome<\/h2>\n<p>Analysts are cautious about a broad agreement this week. Ignacio Garcia Bercero of the think tank Bruegel said an export-restraint agreement in a single sector could be tested.<\/p>\n<p class=\"media-credit auk-gogcn-ertkm\" data-provider=\"pexels\"><small>Featured image. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/red-cranes-and-multicoloured-cargo-containers-on-a-cost-12999282\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Pexels<\/a>. Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/@jimbear\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Jimmy Chan<\/a>. License: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Pexels License<\/a>.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maros Sefcovic is meeting Chinese officials while Brussels weighs car import curbs and a faster response tool, with EU leaders due to discuss China next week.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[169,1170,1173,1171,1172,1123],"class_list":["post-26762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-china","tag-eu","tag-european-commission","tag-maros-sefcovic","tag-rare-earths","tag-trade"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26762"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26770,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26762\/revisions\/26770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visegradpost.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}