EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic, who held talks with China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Brussels on Monday, said he wanted dialogue to yield "tangible" results by October and another meeting planned in China as the bloc aims to work on a widening gap with the world's second-largest economy.
Talks were "intensive, focused and constructive," Sefcovic told reporters on Monday, adding both national delegations will keep talking during the evening.
"We think that between now and October, our teams have sufficient time to deliver tangible results," he said. Wang invited him to travel to Beijing in October.
Sefcovic insisted the European Union wants the talks to address the widening trade gap.
"Not everything will be fixed, but we think that between now and October, our teams have sufficient time to deliver the tangible results," he said.
"China's exports to the EU keep rising, while our market share in China keeps shrinking. This trend is not sustainable and the status quo is not an option," he noted.
He also said both sides set up groups to discuss trade balance, export controls, intellectual property and World Trade Organization (WTO) reform.
The assurances given by China that rare earth controls will not disrupt EU supply chains is positive, he said.
Sefcovic said Wang reassured him that "existing export controls on rare earth and permanent magnets will not disrupt EU supply chains."
European Union leaders have asked the Commission, which handles trade relationships for the bloc, to produce results from dialogue with China, as its trade surplus with the EU hit 360.6 billion euros ($411.95 billion) in 2025, a 15% increase on 2024.
Wang's visit comes less than two weeks after the leaders tasked the Commission with tackling the issue through talks with Beijing, while simultaneously preparing beefed-up defense measures to protect key sectors.
Brussels fears it will lose certain industries entirely if it does not act against a glut of inexpensive goods made in China, which it says are threatening manufacturers in Europe. It insists on the need for a level playing field, pointing out that Chinese firms have an unfair advantage because of massive state subsidies.
