EU ambassador says don't want trade war with China even as frustration over Beijing's market practices grows

The EU does not want a trade war with Beijing but five years of talks have yielded no real progress, the bloc’s ambassador to China said on Saturday, adding that concern was growing over Chinese market access for European medical devices.

Trade frictions between the bloc and China have intensified over the past year after the EU launched an investigation into Chinese-made imports of electric vehicles (EVs) that prompted Beijing to launch probes into Europe’s pork and dairy industries and curb brandy imports.

New EU tariffs of up to 45.3 per cent on Chinese EV imports came into effect last week.

On top of that, the EU launched a probe into China’s public procurement of medical devices in April, which Beijing swiftly criticised at the time.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Speaking at an event in Shanghai, the EU’s Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo said talks with European medical device makers had shown they were being discriminated against in Chinese public procurement.

“We have found out, that it’s clear … European companies, that have been producing medical devices in China for the last two decades, are being discriminated against their Chinese competitors in public procurement,” Toledo said at the 30th anniversary celebration of the China Europe International Business School.

“If that is true, and we know it’s true, we will treat Chinese companies in Europe the same way we are treated here,” he said. “We don’t want a trade war. We just want transparency. We want a level playing field.”

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China