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EU
trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met with Chinese Commerce
Minister Wang Wentao in Brussels on Friday to discuss Beijing's
export controls on rare earths issued in April and October, and
European regulations on semiconductor sales, said Olof Gill, a
spokesperson for the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's
executive arm. Like the U.S., Europe runs a huge trade deficit
with China — around 300 billion euros ($345 billion) last year.
It relies heavily on China for rare earth material and products,
which are also used to make magnets used in cars and appliances.
Gill said that the EU welcomed China’s recent 12-month
suspension of rare earths export controls, and called for a new
and stable system of trade in the critical materials. The EU is
working with China on an export licensing system to ensure a
more stable flow of rare earth minerals to the bloc, he said.
“This is an appropriate and responsible step in the context of
ensuring stable global trade flows in a critically important
area,” Gill said.
Šefčovič said that that Brussels and Beijing were continuing to
speak about further trade measures.
“Both sides reaffirmed commitment to continue engagement on
improving the implementation of export control policies,” he
said in an X post.
China is the EU’s second-largest trading partner in goods, after
the United States. Bilateral trade is estimated at 2.3 billion
euros ($2.7 billion) per day.
Both China and the EU believe it's in their interest to keep
their trade ties stable for the sake of the global economy, and
they share certain climate goals.
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