Media: EU and China to Hold Talks in Brussels, Focusing on Rare Earth Export Controls
EU and Chinese officials will hold meetings in Brussels next week to ease their increasingly tense trade relations, particularly the controversy sparked by China's expansion of rare earth export controls. The EU is concerned that China's rare earth control measures may affect key manufacturing sectors in Europe, including the automotive industry.
Reuters reported that EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao reached an agreement during a two-hour video call on Tuesday, October 21, to host a new round of EU-China dialogue hosted by the EU.
The European Commission said on Friday, October 24, that a series of offline and online meetings between the EU and China will be held next week under the framework of the "Export Control Dialogue." However, Dombrovskis and the Chinese minister themselves are not expected to attend personally.
In this week's video conference, both sides discussed a range of issues that have strained their trade relations, including rare earth exports, the additional tariffs imposed by the EU on Chinese electric vehicles, and the recent incident where the Dutch government seized a Chinese-controlled Dutch chipmaker, Nexperia.
There are 17 rare earth elements, 12 of which are currently subject to export restrictions. These key raw materials are widely used in high-end manufacturing sectors such as electric vehicles, aircraft engines, and military radar. China controls about 90% of the global rare earth processing and rare earth magnet capacity, and holds a dominant position in the global supply chain.
Despite multiple trade disputes between China and the EU, the EU is also largely involved in the trade confrontation between the US and China.
Sources: rfi
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846919422774288/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself