Read-out according to the EU Commission of the meetings between Commissioner Šefčovič and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Customs Minister Sun Meijun
On Thursday 27 and Friday 28 March 2025, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič held meetings with representatives of the Chinese government in Beijing.
Commissioner Šefčovič discussed with Vice Premier He Lifeng, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, and Customs’ Minister Sun Meijung on how to improve and rebalance EU-China trade and investment relations.
Discussions included long standing systemic issues, the need to level the playing field for European companies on the Chinese market, a number of key market access issues, as well as investments in electric vehicles supply chain.
Commissioner Šefčovič and Minister Wang agreed to closely follow up on their discussions through regular contact to provide political steer and ensure adequate progress on all discussed files, including the key market access issues raised by the EU. They agreed to have a dialogue covering all trade and investment issues related to the electric vehicles supply chain, in order to ensure they provide greater contribution to long-term European competitiveness and quality jobs.
Commissioner Šefčovič and Minister Sun agreed to set up a working group on agri-food market access, and to look into a potential roadmap for the revision of the 2024 EU-China Customs Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Agreement.
Background
This was the first visit to China by a Member of College under the new European Commission.
In 2025, the EU and China celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. China is a key trading partner for the EU, with whom we have a substantial trade relationship worth €730 billion; it represents the EU’s third largest trading partner, and the second largest partner for trade in goods.
Current EU-China trade relations remain unbalanced, without level playing field and a deficit in trade in goods that has been widening over the last decade, fuelled by illegal subsidies. The EU-China trade deficit in 2024 reached €304.5 billion; while this is still below the 2022 figures (€397 billion), it marked an all-time record high in volume.
In 2024, Chinese FDI into the EU reached the highest value in the last five years, with a cumulated value of €185 billion; in the same period, EU FDI in China remained stable, with a cumulative value of €184 billion.
Source – EU Commission
Read-out according to the Chinese Government
He Lifeng, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, met with Šefčović, European Commission’s Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on the evening of March 27.
He Lifeng said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU. China is willing to work with the EU to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both sides, strengthen dialogue and exchanges, properly handle economic and trade differences, expand mutual openness, promote the healthy and stable development of China-EU economic and trade relations, and jointly resist unilateralism and protectionism and safeguard the multilateral trading system.
Šefčović said that China is an important cooperation partner of the EU and is willing to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to deepen EU-China economic and trade cooperation and agree to resolve differences through dialogue and consultation.
Government of China / via Xinhua / e-translated