HONG KONG, Sept 19 (Askume) – China’s commerce minister said on Wednesday that Beijing will continue negotiations “until the last minute” on a European Union electric vehicle probe that could undermine Chinese companies’ confidence to invest in Europe.
Wang Wentao was speaking at the China-EU electric vehicle event in Brussels, where about 30 executives from the Chinese and European electric vehicle industries gathered to discuss their views on the EU’s counter-case against Chinese electric vehicles.
Wang Yi will meet European Commission Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday to discuss rising trade tensions.
The European Commission is due to propose a final tariff of up to 35.3% on Chinese-made electric vehicles, based on the EU’s standard 10% car import tariff.
The EU’s 27 member states will vote on the proposed final tariffs on September 25. The tariffs will remain in place until the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU member states, representing 65% of the EU’s population, vote against them.
