Trump, who has threatened to impose a 60 percent tariff on all Chinese goods, is expected to further antagonize Beijing during his upcoming term and to push the EU to fully decouple its supply chains from China. Hinting at such a summit just days before Trump is inaugurated signals to Washington that the bloc wants to keep its options open toward Beijing.
Trade relations between Brussels and Beijing remain tense, however, with the European Commission ruling on Tuesday that China’s market access rules for medical devices are unfair to EU exporters. The decision followed a nine-month probe.
The last summit between the EU and China came at the end of 2023 in Beijing, just as trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels soared over a high-profile investigation into the subsidies enjoyed by Chinese electric vehicles. The Commission imposed duties of up to 35 percent on China-made EVs in October, and talks have so far failed to resolve the tariff fight.
In another indication that high-level contacts are intensifying, the EU’s recently appointed trade chief, Maroš Šefčovič, will meet China’s Ambassador to the EU Cai Run on Friday.