China's Ministry of Commerce issued a resolute warning to the European Union. This came ahead of high-level talks expected to take place in Beijing next week. UNN reports this, citing CNBC.
Details
China will "respond firmly" if the EU imposes restrictions on Chinese businesses or goods, according to a statement by China's Ministry of Commerce published late on Tuesday, September 29.
The ministry said that such actions, while China and the EU are conducting trade negotiations, would "seriously undermine mutual trust" and "derail" the talks.
China and the EU have been conducting trade negotiations since this summer, as Europe seeks to reduce its record trade deficit with China by October. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič warned in an interview with Euronews this week that Beijing must achieve "concrete results" by October or face "tougher measures." He is expected to visit Beijing next week.
Earlier this week, Noah Barkin of the Rhodium Group said that Europe was considering measures to close the bloc to China.
Citing European officials, he said that Germany and France were finalizing a joint document calling on the European Commission to accelerate the development of an instrument that one official described as enabling Brussels to "cut China off from the European market within 24 hours."
Barkin said these measures could be similar to the U.S. approach involving Section 301 tariffs. The statement from China's Ministry of Commerce said this was a reaction to Europe's consideration of "301-type" instruments.
China draws "red lines" ahead of trade negotiations with EU and US - Reuters03.08.26, 09:00
Additional information
Although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) surpassed the EU in 2020 to become China's largest trading partner in goods, the EU's trade deficit with China is the largest in the world, recently exceeding the U.S. figure. This is according to data from China's customs service obtained through Wind Information.
If services are included, the EU said it was China's largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to 880 billion euros, or nearly $1 trillion, last year.