With the European Union due to vote very soon on imposing tariffs of up to 35.3 per cent on electric vehicles made in China, last-ditch efforts to prevent China-EU trade frictions escalating and causing damage to their mutually beneficial economic cooperation have gained a rising sense of urgency, says state-owned china Daily.
Its editorial continues below:
The EU's 27 members are scheduled to vote on September 25 on the tariffs proposed by the European Commission on the grounds that Chinese electric car manufacturers have unacceptable competitive advantages thanks to high subsidies from the government.
The tariffs, to be imposed on top of the bloc's standard 10 per cent import duty on cars, will come into force by the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members vote against the levies.
In an advisory vote in early July, 11 countries approved?the provisional rates, while four voted against them, and nine abstained.
A number of EU states have since expressed their opposition to them, and have called for dialogue and consultations. 'We don't need another trade war,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said during his recent visit to China, adding that his country advocates talks to prevent potential damage to trade relations.
Given that Spain was among the major EU states that supported the European Commission's proposal to impose additional duties on Chinese-made EVs in the advisory vote in July, its change of mind, which reflects 'rational and objective thinking', is especially welcome as that reflection on the matter shows the wisdom of finding a political solution to the dispute.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has voiced his support for Sanchez's position, saying that this 'direction of travel is one that we share'. And German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, in a meeting with visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Tuesday, emphasised that the EU and China should avoid a damaging trade war at all costs.
'We absolutely want to avoid a trade conflict with spiralling tariffs that ultimately harms both sides,' he said.
The EU has committed to phasing out the sale of conventional cars by 2035, and with their cutting-edge technology and products, Chinese EV companies are playing a pivotal role in driving Europe's green transportation revolution.
Rather than imposing curbs on Chinese EV imports, it serves the EU's green transition ambition to deepen cooperation with China, given that its own automotive industry has been slow in shifting away from internal combustion technology.
SeaNews Turkey
Its editorial continues below:
The EU's 27 members are scheduled to vote on September 25 on the tariffs proposed by the European Commission on the grounds that Chinese electric car manufacturers have unacceptable competitive advantages thanks to high subsidies from the government.
The tariffs, to be imposed on top of the bloc's standard 10 per cent import duty on cars, will come into force by the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members vote against the levies.
In an advisory vote in early July, 11 countries approved?the provisional rates, while four voted against them, and nine abstained.
A number of EU states have since expressed their opposition to them, and have called for dialogue and consultations. 'We don't need another trade war,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said during his recent visit to China, adding that his country advocates talks to prevent potential damage to trade relations.
Given that Spain was among the major EU states that supported the European Commission's proposal to impose additional duties on Chinese-made EVs in the advisory vote in July, its change of mind, which reflects 'rational and objective thinking', is especially welcome as that reflection on the matter shows the wisdom of finding a political solution to the dispute.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has voiced his support for Sanchez's position, saying that this 'direction of travel is one that we share'. And German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, in a meeting with visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Tuesday, emphasised that the EU and China should avoid a damaging trade war at all costs.
'We absolutely want to avoid a trade conflict with spiralling tariffs that ultimately harms both sides,' he said.
The EU has committed to phasing out the sale of conventional cars by 2035, and with their cutting-edge technology and products, Chinese EV companies are playing a pivotal role in driving Europe's green transportation revolution.
Rather than imposing curbs on Chinese EV imports, it serves the EU's green transition ambition to deepen cooperation with China, given that its own automotive industry has been slow in shifting away from internal combustion technology.
SeaNews Turkey
