EU-China Trade Tensions Escalate Ahead of Beijing Summit

European and Chinese officials are set for high-stakes talks in Beijing this Thursday, as longstanding trade disputes threaten to overshadow potential areas of cooperation. The summit comes amid growing EU concerns over Chinese industrial overcapacity, rare earths dominance, and continued support for Russia's Ukraine war.

Brussels has recently escalated trade defenses, imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and blocking medical device tenders—moves met with swift retaliation from Beijing. "China is the key enabler of Russia's war in Ukraine," stated EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, highlighting the geopolitical undercurrents complicating economic relations.

The talks unfold against a backdrop of shared pressure from U.S. trade policies, though analysts see limited near-term prospects for meaningful alignment. Both sides appear entrenched, with China conducting retaliatory trade investigations while the EU decries what it views as economic coercion through control of critical supply chains.