Overview
- China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed on Thursday that the new trade and investment consultation mechanism will convene ministerial‑level talks once or twice a year and has invited EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to visit Beijing this autumn.
- The mechanism is meant to address a widening goods gap with China of about €360 billion and to create formal channels for talks that could boost cooperation on artificial intelligence and the renewable‑energy transition.
- EU officials have moved to shield key sectors with new measures that took effect this week, including limits on small e‑commerce parcels and protections for the steel industry that largely target Chinese imports.
- Šefčovič has set an October deadline for tangible results on trade rebalancing, and Brussels is also designing faster, sectoral trade‑defence and industrial tools that will take months of legal work to finalise.
- Analysts say the talks lower the risk of open escalation by keeping dialogue alive, but state‑linked Chinese commentary urging relaxed export controls and divisions among EU member states mean retaliation or tougher measures remain possible.