EU-China talks on rare earth restrictions. “We are very concerned about the trade relationship with China”
The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa. Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP / Profimedia
A Chinese delegation will travel to Brussels on Thursday for talks on restrictions imposed by Beijing on rare earth exports, the European Union announced, according to AFP.
China, the world's largest producer of the rare minerals, which are crucial to the auto, electronics and defense industries, announced new export curbs earlier this month.
In response, President Donald Trump threatened 100 percent US tariffs on Chinese imports.
A high-level Chinese delegation will go to Brussels on Thursday and video talks were held on Monday to “prepare the ground”, EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said.
Contrary to expectations, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will not be part of the delegation.
“We are taking these steps because we believe China needs to act as a responsible partner,” Gill told reporters in Brussels.
The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, stated that the subject was raised in a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia.
“We are very concerned about the trade relationship with China,” especially the controls on the export of critical raw materials, the senior European official told reporters on Monday.
Costa noted that he hoped the planned visit “could overcome these problems”.
The EU claims that the new Chinese measures have forced some companies to stop production.
“With China, we want to have good trade relations. But, in fact, we have some issues that we have brought up and we need to address them,” said the European Council president.
“China knows very well what kind of problems we are facing and what it needs to do to overcome this situation,” he added.
What the Premier of China said
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Beijing is willing to resolve bilateral economic and trade issues through dialogue, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
At the same time, he said that Beijing is ready to intensify cooperation with Brussels, especially in the ecological and digital sectors.
The president of the European Commission said on Saturday that the EU is making efforts to stop being dependent on rare earths from China. According to Ursula von der Leyen, an important component of the EU plan will be recycling.
The common good will also focus on partnerships for critical raw materials with countries such as Ukraine, Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chile and Greenland, she added.
