BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union (EU) have agreed to maintain stable bilateral economic and trade ties and make them more balanced, while scheduling March 2027 for their next meeting under a trade and investment consultation mechanism, according to a joint statement released Friday.
Published by China's Ministry of Commerce, the statement said that Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic jointly chaired the second meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism from Thursday to Friday in Beijing.
The two sides engaged in pragmatic and productive discussions and agreed on a list of outcomes, the ministry said. The list set out 16 specific points of consensus covering trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property rights and World Trade Organization (WTO) reform.
According to the ministry, the two sides agreed to continue exploring the possibility of reducing tariffs on certain goods within the framework of WTO rules.
China and the EU reached an understanding on trade in hybrid vehicles in a manner consistent with WTO rules. The two sides will also continue relevant procedures concerning companies' price undertakings and reviews in the EU's anti-subsidy case involving Chinese electric vehicles, the ministry said.
The two sides further agreed to hold a technical dialogue on the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation.
China expressed its willingness to continue facilitating the processing of export license applications for rare earths and permanent magnets destined for the EU through a "green channel" mechanism. The EU, together with its member states, will continue to facilitate the resolution of key licensing cases involving China in the dual-use sector, according to the ministry.
The two sides also agreed to explore investment cooperation to promote their respective economic development and discussed future-oriented cooperation.
As key trading partners, China and the EU reaffirmed their commitment to properly handling their differences within the framework of WTO rules, and to keeping bilateral economic and trade ties stable and making them more balanced, the ministry noted.
The two sides also agreed to hold the third meeting of the consultation mechanism in March next year and maintain close communication in the meantime, including through a ministerial video conference in January next year, the ministry said.
Both sides viewed the second meeting as a new starting point for deepening China-EU cooperation and tasked their working teams with advancing follow-up work, promoting the early implementation of the agreed outcomes, and preparing for the third meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, according to the ministry. ■
