By Edith Hancock
The European Union and China will set up a system to monitor trade flows and are eyeing further discussions this autumn, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said as the bloc seeks to improve trade relations between the two regions.
It comes as Sefcovic meets with China's commerce minister Wang Wentao in Brussels Monday--the first of what officials billed as formal EU-China trade and investment consultations.
The EU and China's relationship has become increasingly strained as the bloc's trade deficit with Beijing expands, while companies continue to rely on the region for key exports such as critical raw materials. "The gap is widening," Sefcovic told reporters on Monday. "This trend is not sustainable and the status quo is not an option," he said.
Both Sefcovic and Wang told officials to work on four key areas--trade and investment balancing, export controls, intellectual-property rights and World Trade Organization reform--and agreed to meet again later this year, according to a joint statement, with Sefcovic setting an October 2026 deadline to make more progress. The two sides also agreed to set up a joint monitoring mechanism to facilitate exchanging data, monitoring trade flows and supporting technical work to improve transparency.
Write to Edith Hancock at [email protected]