China and the European Union held in-depth discussions on establishing a trade and investment consultation mechanism, signaling willingness to manage differences through dialogue.
On Tuesday, Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Ling Ji met Ditte Juul Jorgensen, director-general of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, in Brussels, Belgium. The Chinese commerce ministry said in a Wednesday statement that both sides agreed to pursue pragmatic outcomes from the first meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism to stabilize bilateral economic relations. Cui Fan, a professor of international trade at the University of International Business and Economics, noted that trade between China and the EU exceeds 10 million yuan every minute. He said the mechanism is an essential step toward handling frictions and serves the interests of businesses on both sides. Sun Yawen, an assistant research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, said the EU has broadened its trade defense toolkit with restrictive measures aimed at Chinese companies. She added that these protectionist steps could hinder the EU's ability to absorb cutting-edge technologies.
