Remarks by Commissioner Šefčovič at EU-China Trade and Investment Consultations Press Point

Good afternoon.

Today, I have the opportunity to host my counterpart from China, Minister Wang Wentao. We held a series of substantive talks as of this morning and will continue later today.

This is my fourth meeting with the Minister, building on our previous engagements. My team also travelled to Beijing to help prepare this visit.

Today's discussions were intensive, focused and constructive.

My objective from the outset has been clear: to begin balancing the trade relationship between the European Union and China.

The gap is widening. China's exports to the EU keep rising, while our market share in China keeps shrinking.

This trend is not sustainable. The status quo is not an option.

The EU remains open for business. But we need to defend our industrial base and keep pushing for a level playing field globally, so our industries get a fair shot at competing.

That is why today's talks – and the ones to follow – matter. They help us avoid unnecessary tension.

I believe we are starting to understand each other better on the structural issues that need fixing in our trade relationship.

This is also reflected in the joint press statement that Minister Wang Wentao and I are issuing, capturing the key takeaways.

So, we are today launching Trade and Investment Consultations – a dedicated platform to tackle, in a structured way, the issues we have identified together, along four strands:

• Trade and investment balancing
• Export controls
• Intellectual property rights
• and WTO reform.

Under the first working group on trade and investment balancing, we have agreed to immediately set up a joint monitoring mechanism of trade flows, as a tool to help balance our trade.

In the context of the second working group, I welcome the Minister's reassurance that existing export controls on rare earths and permanent magnets will not disrupt EU supply chains. But I have also proposed ways to further ease the licensing process for EU firms.

Progress is built one conversation at a time.

Our teams will now intensify their work – and I will travel to Beijing this autumn to assess progress. They have a clear mandate and an ambitious timeline to deliver tangible results by October.

Thank you.