EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic will meet China’s international trade envoy Li Chenggang in Paris on Thursday, as the sides look to defuse tensions that have pushed them to the brink of a trade war.
The officials will meet on the sidelines of an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ministerial summit, setting the stage for a month of intensified engagement ahead of Commerce Minister Wang Wentao’s visit to Brussels on June 28 and 29, according to people familiar with the plan.
The sides seek to establish a new platform for discussing trade and investment issues, EU sources said, even as Brussels prepares to take a more hardline stance towards Chinese economic practices.
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The EU has been keen to streamline dialogue with China from an estimated 60 working groups into something more manageable. On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed that a “trade and investment consultation mechanism” was being discussed.
Ling Ji, China’s vice-commerce minister responsible for Europe, is expected next week in Brussels, where he is likely to meet Ditte Juul Jørgensen, the bloc’s new director general for trade.
Trade tensions have soared in recent weeks as Beijing responded forcefully to Brussels’ plans to adopt a stronger policy for dealing with imbalances emanating from the Chinese economy.