Senior MEP urges EU to revive talks on a broader trade deal with China
Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament's Trade Committee, says the EU should pursue a comprehensive agreement with China, possibly covering investment, instead of negotiating sector by sector. He spoke ahead of a 12-member MEP visit to Beijing next week.
The European Union should seek a broad trade agreement with China, potentially including investment, rather than keep negotiating sector by sector. That was the message on Wednesday, 21 October, from Bernd Lange, a German Socialist who chairs the European Parliament's Trade Committee. He spoke ahead of a visit to Beijing next week by 12 MEPs, as Brussels and Beijing try to ease growing trade tensions.
"It is necessary to have a more comprehensive agreement," Lange told reporters, adding that it should come soon: "Negotiation forever make no sense." He suggested revisiting the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), which the two sides had previously negotiated. The Parliament froze its ratification in 2021 after China imposed retaliatory sanctions over EU measures linked to human rights abuses.
The hybrid car deal
This month the European Commission announced a deal under which China will halve its hybrid car exports to the EU over four years. The EU will introduce country-specific quotas allowing 350,000 Chinese hybrid cars into the European market each year, with a fixed annual adjustment rate of 6%. The agreement was reached on 9 October, and the Commission calls it a "first phase" of negotiations. Talks will continue at technical level until the next political round in March 2027. The EU considers the deal insufficient to fix the trade imbalance: the bloc runs a deficit of around €1 billion a day with China.
Pascal Canfin, a French liberal MEP who will travel with Lange, warned that the EU must look beyond individual industries. In his view, the Commission's negotiations on behalf of the 27 member states should address broader unfair trade practices that threaten European manufacturers across several sectors.
The visit and other issues
The lawmakers will be in China from 27 to 29 October. They plan to meet officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and members of the National People's Congress, as well as high-tech business representatives in Hangzhou.
Lange listed other issues a future agreement should cover: Chinese export restrictions, including strict licensing requirements for rare earth exports; unfair subsidies in the chemicals and machinery sectors; and a 20% price surcharge on EU bids in public procurement.
The EU is walking a tightrope with Beijing, pushing for dialogue while enforcing trade defence measures. Last week, EU leaders gave the Commission a political mandate to introduce unilateral quotas to protect the chemicals and machinery sectors. Some member states, such as Spain, favour a softer approach because they want to secure Chinese investment.
