EU, China trade chiefs to hold call as talks near crunch time

European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič will hold a videoconference with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on Thursday, a Commission spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO.

The call will take place on Sept. 17, Olof Gill, deputy chief spokesperson for the Commission, said Monday.

Brussels has stepped up engagement with Chinese officials over the summer as it seeks to reduce the EU’s roughly €1 billion-a-day trade deficit with the Asian giant. The EU executive is under pressure to present the results of its intensified outreach with Beijing during a mid-October summit of EU leaders.

The call will be held just a day after Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her landmark State of the European Union speech, in which she is expected to touch on the threat China poses to the EU’s industrial base.

A delegation of senior Commission officials, led by Director-General for Trade Ditte Juul Jørgensen, will travel to China next week before Šefčovič himself heads to Beijing in early October.

Following his videoconference with the Chinese commerce minister, Šefčovič will seek feedback from European CEOs on the Commission’s push to diversify critical supply chains away from China and will discuss with them a possible future “diversification tool.”