A former European Council president expressed cautious optimism about progress in China-European Union trade negotiations, anticipating developments by the end of the year. Charles Michel, who led the Council from 2019 to 2024 and now serves as a professor at the China Europe International Business School, spoke at a briefing in Shanghai, highlighting the willingness of both parties to find common ground.

Michel referred to a consultation mechanism launched in June between Beijing and Brussels, which focuses on four key areas: trade and investment, export controls, intellectual property rights, and World Trade Organization reform. The European Union set a three-month target in June to rebalance trade relations amid concerns that inexpensive Chinese imports have contributed to the decline of European manufacturing.

“China needs access to the European Union’s markets, and China does not have the alternatives,” Michel said, underscoring EU market access as a significant bargaining chip used by Brussels in negotiations with Beijing.

This month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to introduce new policy measures aimed at addressing imbalances in trade with China. These proposals will be subject to discussion by EU national leaders at an upcoming summit in Brussels scheduled for October.

Data from July shows a notable decline in low-value Chinese imports to the EU, dropping 54 percent in value and 40.8 percent in volume after the implementation of a new tax on packages valued under £150 arriving from outside the EU. This measure appears to have dampened the influx of inexpensive goods.

However, anti-subsidy tariffs imposed on Chinese-made battery electric vehicles (EVs), which range from 17.8 percent to 45.3 percent, have not significantly slowed the rapid increase in EV sales from China across the bloc. In July, exports of Chinese EVs surged by 365.5 percent in France and 530.9 percent in the Netherlands. The Netherlands’ figures are somewhat inflated due to Rotterdam’s role as a major entry port for shipments destined for other EU countries. Germany, the bloc’s automotive center, reported a 40.8 percent year-on-year increase in EV imports from China for the same month.

In response to the sharp rise in imports, the European Commission and Beijing agreed earlier this year to negotiate price undertaking agreements with individual Chinese automakers to replace the existing tariffs. The outcome of these negotiations remains a key factor in the future balance of trade between the two economic powers.