Evaluation of the Results of the Second Meeting of the China EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism: Towards Them, Towards Reality, and Towards the Future

Beijing, October 16 (Xinhua) -- On October 8-9, 2026, Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and European Commission Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Shevchovich co chaired the second meeting of the China EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism in Beijing. After two days of intensive consultations, the two sides have formed a consensus list of 16 achievements covering four major areas: trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property rights, and WTO reform. They have agreed to hold the third meeting in March 2027 and a ministerial level video conference in January 2027. Against the backdrop of escalating trade frictions, this is a hard won interim achievement.

Prior to this meeting, the European side exerted pressure through various means to increase the intensity of trade frictions. European Commission President von der Leyen claimed that the EU's trade deficit with China "exceeds 1 billion euros a day" and has "reached a critical point" and "unsustainable". The hardline voices within the European side have been growing louder and louder: on October 5th, France and Germany jointly sent a letter to the European Commission proposing the establishment of a new rapid response trade tool, such as the European version of "301", giving Brussels broad powers: if any country retaliates disproportionately when the EU imposes trade penalties on it, Europe should be able to respond quickly; Germany is tough on China, blocking a Chinese shipping company from acquiring a German logistics group on October 7th. The pressure from industry organizations is also evident - the German Machinery Manufacturers Association (VDMA) bluntly stated that "there is now a broad consensus that this cannot continue". Both sides walked into the negotiation room in a tense atmosphere, but fortunately the result was pleasing. Both sides engage in equal, professional, and constructive talks, and form existing consensus on achievements, which can be read as a common product of "moving towards each other".

Towards Him: A Balanced 'Bidirectional List'

Carefully reading the consensus of the 16 achievements, it is not a unilateral concession by either party, but a "two-way list". If we divide each achievement into three items that directly address the concerns of the Chinese side, four items that directly address the concerns of the European side, and the remaining nine items that serve the common interests of both parties, we can roughly make the following structural judgment.

Directly responding to China's concerns, as stated in Article 4, both parties recall the guidance document on price commitments for electric vehicle anti subsidy cases and will continue the procedures for enterprise price commitments and re examination related to electric vehicle anti subsidy cases; As stated in Article 9, the European side clarifies that the financing guidance document for inverter projects is not specific to any particular country, leaving room for Chinese companies to participate in European green and low-carbon projects; As stated in Article 8, both parties agree to engage in technical dialogue on the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), in response to China's concerns about frequent investigations by the EU into Chinese companies.

Directly responding to the concerns of the European side, such as reaching an understanding on hybrid vehicle trade in accordance with WTO rules in Article 3, maintaining dialogue on medical device market access in Article 5, accelerating the regionalization principle recognition of eligible EU member states and jointly exploring ways to lift restrictions on the export of bluetongue disease to China by relevant member states in Article 6, and reaching consensus on computer reservation system (CRS) technology exchange and cosmetic and drug regulatory frameworks in Article 7, are all prominent demands of the European industry in recent times.

In addition, the consensus on the 9 achievements falls on the common concerns of both sides, such as reducing tariffs within the framework of WTO rules, trade monitoring, investment cooperation, export control dialogue, compliant trade of dual-use items, intellectual property rights, and WTO reform. Even in entries that are primarily aimed at one party, there is often consideration included. Article 12 is a typical example: China will continue to provide a "green channel" for the approval of export licenses for rare earths and permanent magnets to Europe, while the European side promises to work with member states to facilitate the resolution of key license cases in the field of dual-use items for China.

This mutually embedded and complementary structure is the most intuitive footnote to 'walking towards each other'. It is not the result of pressure from one side, but the common choice of both sides to handle differences through dialogue rather than confrontation in a complex situation.

Towards Reality: Anchoring the Real Needs of Enterprises

The value of the consensus list of achievements ultimately lies in meeting the real needs of the enterprise. From this perspective, the 16 achievements have responded to at least four types of practical demands.

One is the investment demand of Chinese enterprises in Europe. The financing guidance document for inverter projects targeted by Article 9 is directly related to the investment and supply chain layout of Chinese new energy enterprises in Europe. The clarification that the European side "does not target specific countries" is equivalent to clearing away uncertainty for such investments.

The second is the demand for Chinese goods to enter the EU market. The understanding on hybrid vehicle trade in Article 3 and the price commitment and review procedures for electric vehicle anti subsidy cases in Article 4 provide a compromise path for the "storm eye" of the China Europe trade friction in the automotive industry. The two consensus achievements on automobiles not only cater to the protection demands of the European industry, but also safeguard the market access of Chinese enterprises, demonstrating the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win.

The third is the demand for EU enterprises to enter the Chinese market. Article 5 on market access for medical devices, Article 6 on disease control, and Article 7 on CRS (aviation services) and regulation of cosmetics and drugs are all part of the long-standing "demand list" of EU medical, aviation, and agricultural product enterprises; The European side also welcomes the Chinese side to hold a medical device procurement matchmaking event during the 9th CIIE.

The fourth is the export control that both sides are highly concerned about. The 12th "Green Channel" mechanism responds to the anxiety of the European manufacturing and defense industries towards critical raw materials. Similarly, in Article 12, it addresses China's concerns regarding the licensing of dual-use items to China. The EU's commitment to resolving key licensing cases with China will help expand EU exports to China and balance bilateral trade, and related products are also needed by China.

By mapping these four types of demands to specific terms, the significance of the consensus list of achievements becomes clear: it stabilizes the expectations of the enterprise through operational mechanisms. In the current context of the widespread discourse of "China Impact 2.0" and the strong wait-and-see attitude of enterprises, an expected "consensus list of results" is itself the best confidence for business and has also set a good social public opinion for the next stage of negotiations.

Towards the Future: From the Future of Consultation to the Future of Cooperation

Firstly, towards the future of negotiations. Upon closer examination of the consensus on the 16 achievements, it can be found that a considerable portion of them are "interim achievements" rather than "final arrangements": Article 1 is to "continue exploring" the possibility of tariff reduction, Article 3 requires further elaboration on the specific implementation of the hybrid understanding, Article 8 FSR Technical Dialogue, and Article 13 Dual Use Item Compliance Trade Facilitation Measures all start with "discussing possibilities". But these 'unfinished' tasks have precisely opened up the next stage of negotiation space. That is why both parties need to agree on the third meeting in March 2027 and the ministerial level video conference in January next year. The consensus list of achievements is not the end point, but the foundation and beginning of continuous negotiations.

Secondly, towards the future of cooperation. Article 10 "Exploring investment cooperation and discussing future oriented cooperation" lays the foundation for future cooperation. For China, this means that exports of goods such as artificial intelligence, robots, and innovative drugs to Europe are expected to open up new space; For the EU, it can also promote high-level trade and investment cooperation with China in a more proactive manner. Practice has shown that China EU economic and trade relations are fully capable of moving from "managing differences" to "co creating incremental growth".

Thirdly, towards the future of the world. In the current world, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, and tariff wars and "decoupling and disconnection" are emerging one after another. As the two major markets and forces in the world, China and Europe have confirmed each other as "stable and balanced" key trading partners. They have chosen to handle their differences properly within the framework of WTO rules and committed to promoting WTO reform in an open and constructive manner, which goes beyond the bilateral scope. Faced with global challenges, multilateralism rather than unilateralism, dialogue and cooperation rather than zero sum games are the correct way out. In this sense, China and Europe moving towards each other is not only paving the way for their respective development, but also contributing to the maintenance of the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core.