The current frictions between China and the European Union over electric vehicles are not “existential”, with both sides looking to work more closely together on trade and the green transition to counteract the disruption unleashed by US President Donald Trump, a former EU trade negotiator said.
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“The Trump factor makes both Europe and China more keen now to see where they can cooperate,” John Clarke, former head of the EU Delegation to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations in Geneva, told the Post.
Clarke pointed to a range of sectors with real potential for collaboration, including energy, space, pandemic preparedness and, above all, the green transition.
“We need Chinese environmental technology and goods – whether it’s vehicles, drones, photovoltaic panels, or wind turbines,” he said, citing the EU’s aim to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“China is part of the solution to a more affordable transition.”
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His comments come at a critical juncture in China-EU relations, with the two sides eyeing a reset in their relationship as they seek to navigate the uncertainties of a second Trump presidency.
However, tensions such as the EU’s anti-subsidy case targeting Chinese EVs continue to cloud bilateral ties. The two powers are now in negotiations over setting minimum prices for Chinese-made electric cars, as an alternative to the tariffs imposed by Brussels last year following an anti-subsidy investigation.