An overview of selected developments in Brussels over trade and investment this week. By Iana Dreyer and Rob Francis.
China
Week in Brussels: China, United States
It’s a week where China and the United States came back into focus in EU trade policy after weeks of almost exclusively dealing with Ukraine war-related trade files and the World Trade Organization.
EU, China hold trade meeting amidst increasing European concerns about broader relationship
“Engaging China will remain key”, concluded the European Commission’s director-general for trade in a short Twitter thread following the first High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue held since 2020. The meeting was chaired by China’s vice-premier Liu He and the EU’s commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis. It was held …
EU, China mandate high level dialogue to advance ‘market access’ conversation
Today’s widely anticipated EU-China summit held via videoconference mainly offered a channel of direct communication between the leaders of the Council and the European Commission on the one hand and China’s president and vice-premier on the other, amidst rising political rifts between the two sides that have been building up …
Perspectives: Where now for EU-China relations?
This week’s EU-China summit will be dominated by discussions on Russia and Ukraine. There is also a trade dimension to the conversation, amidst increasing mistrust and fears of full economic decoupling in the future. There is a need to prepare for the possibility of the latter while still setting out …
Lithuania: EU launches wide-ranging WTO case against China trade blockade
The EU has moved faster than expected in launching a legal dispute at the World Trade Organization in relation to Chinese restrictions on exports from Lithuania following a political row with the country related to the opening of a representative office for Taiwan in Vilnius last year. The move is …
Week in Brussels : Hong Kong, G7 climate club, US, Canada
The EU trade policy machinery is definitely back in action after a slow-ish start to the year. Here some selected updates on developments this week by Iana Dreyer and Rob Francis.
Festering Chinese Lithuania blockade emboldens anti-coercion instrument proponents
A festering crisis over trade with Lithuania is helping proponents of the EU’s recently announced anti-coercion instrument make their case in Brussels.
Sabine Weyand: We will need to re-engage China
Borderlex’s founder and editor Iana Dreyer spoke to the European Commission’s director-general for trade Sabine Weyand. The conversation covered the current state of transatlantic trade relations, the Brussels’ trade conversation with China and prospects for the World Trade Organization as its 12th ministerial conference approaches.
Chinese business feels heat of EU ‘unilateral’ trade and investment measures
The discreet Brussels-based China Chamber of Commerce to the EU released this week its 2021 annual report on what it terms the ‘business climate’ in the bloc.
