Recent EU-China talks were a 'good starting point', MEP Lange says

Europe and China are trying to reset their increasingly difficult trade relationship, but the tensions are far from over. From Chinese electric cars and massive industrial overcapacity to rare earths and access to each other's markets, Brussels is demanding more reciprocity from Beijing. Behind the trade dispute lies a much bigger question. Can Europe reduce its dependence on China without damaging its own economy? A few days ago, EU Trade Commissioner Šefčovič returned from talks in China that showed some progress. Yesterday, I spoke to Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, and I asked him whether this positive beginning was enough to call it a breakthrough. At the moment, we are discussing 16 points, and now we have an agreement on more or less three of them. So there is really now the beginning, and there's a chance to have a more or less comprehensive agreement perhaps in March next year. So I guess it's really a starting point. Of course, it's good. So I'm quite sure that now China is a little bit more flexible than perhaps one year ago because of the economic situation in China. So they need the export market to the European Union, and therefore it was possible to start the negotiations. So a good starting point. Let's see how it will be developed. Is China negotiating in good faith? My experience is that if you have an agreement or an understanding with China, and it is really hard to get it, no doubt about it. I have really some experience in the past. If there is an agreement, if there is a clear rule, they are staying to this rule. Of course, they have their strategic interests, but it's not a secret. If you are reading the 12th, 13th, 14th, and now the 15th five years plan, everything is written down. Perhaps the difference with the European Union is, of course, we are also sometimes writing something down, but they are doing what they are writing down. So China appears to have offered concessions on hybrid cars and rare earths. What has Beijing actually committed to and what still needs to be negotiated? Yeah, in the hybrid car, of course, there was a curve with a really dramatic increase. And now we have stopped the curve and we limit the import for about 360,000 cars a year for four years with 6% increase per year. So this leads some or gives some time for the European manufacturer. Then on the rare earths, we have a specific way for getting access, a European way that's also good. And a third agreement, don't forget, we have a cut of tariffs from China in a volume of 225 million. What is the one concession from China you would demand from Beijing before calling this a successful deal? Of course, there are a lot of other items. So the access to the Chinese market is limited for several reasons. By the way, for public procurement, there is an additional 20% price for foreign offers. We have some problems to get investment located and so on. So there are a lot of issues where we should discuss on that detail. Then, of course, we have our legislation, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. There are some trade acts in China which forbid the cooperation between Chinese companies and the European authorities. Also, this, I guess, has to be changed, so there has to be trust in using the economic figures and also regarding investment obligations inside the European Union. So there are a lot of items which should be discussed and led to an agreement. So it's perhaps really the starting point, not even the half of the way. It's just the starting point. And I hope that we can work on and I'm quite hopeful.