EU walks away from economic dialogue with China
That can’t be good…
The EU has reportedly snubbed a major economic meeting with China due to a lack of progress on trade issues (FT).
Some context: The EU-China High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue, originally scheduled for June, was intended to lay the groundwork for the July summit between Xi Jinping and senior EU officials in Beijing.
- EU officials – frustrated by China’s alleged lack of progress on a growing number of bilateral trade disputes – had already thrown the dialogue into question.
The EU has apparently judged that China hasn’t backed up its rhetoric with action:
- Inside sources reportedly told the FT that the EU “would hold the meeting only if there were agreements at the summit to implement.”
- One said that “China would like to have [the economic dialogue], but we are seeing no progress in all of our talks.”
Get smart: Despite its many, many overtures, Beijing has failed to convince Brussels that it’s serious about addressing the bloc's trade gripes.
- This does not bode well for any breakthrough at the Beijing summit.
Forget what you heard: We’ve long been skeptical of the prospect of a Sino-European trade alliance to counter US protectionism.
- Beijing’s failure to win over Brussels means Chinese industry will face growing pressure from a mistrustful Europe.
The big question: Will China turn the other cheek or retaliate?