Enhanced Sino-EU relations to stabilize world economy

In the face of the United States' sweeping tariffs, enhanced cooperation between China and the European Union serves as a critical counterweight to Washington's unilateral tariff measures, which are disrupting the rules-based global trading system, and provides a stabilizing force for the world economy, analysts said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic ties — a milestone that analysts said Beijing and Brussels should capitalize on to strengthen communications and resolve pending issues, and take their relationship to new heights.

The US has slapped steep tariffs on friends and foes, using such levies as bargaining chips to force other economies to make deals. Both the EU and China are feeling the brunt of the tariffs.

"China and the EU recognize that in the face of rising protectionism, they have a shared interest in preserving the rules-based global order," said Li Daokui, director of Tsinghua University's Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking.

"By aligning positions and pooling influence, Beijing and Brussels can push back against the forces of unilateralism and fragmentation," Li said.

This interdependence, far from being mere rhetoric, is mirrored in the robust trade relationship that binds the two economies. The General Administration of Customs said China's trade with the EU reached 1.3 trillion yuan ($179.6 billion) in the first quarter, up 1.4 percent year-on-year.

This means that China and the EU are engaging in over 10 million yuan worth of trade activity every minute.

On April 27, the first China-Europe freight train for e-commerce in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, loaded with goods such as 3D printers and game controller accessories, departed from Shen­zhen, Guangdong province, for a 15-day journey to Budapest, Hungary. This new rail service will operate one or two times per week.

"China and the EU possess strong economic complementarity, thanks to China's robust manufacturing capabilities and vast domestic market, and Europe's strengths in high-end manufacturing, services and technological innovation," said Liu Ying, a researcher at Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies.

Liu said the shared commitment of China and the EU to green transition lays a strong foundation to deepen their economic and technological cooperation, particularly in green development and the digital economy.

Though the EU increased tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles to as much as 45.3 percent in October, Beijing and Brussels have recently floated the idea of lifting the tariffs through possible commitments to minimum prices, known as price undertakings for imported cars.

During a video call in April, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic agreed to immediately start negotiations on EV price undertakings, as well as issues related to bilateral investment cooperation in the auto sector.

Wang Lingjun, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs, said, "With their combined economic size exceeding one-third of the global total, China and the EU are both champions of economic globalization and trade liberalization, as well as steadfast supporters of the World Trade Organization."

The close communication and joint actions by China and the EU to uphold free and open trade and investment — as well as maintaining the stability and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains — will inject more stability and certainty into their own economies and the world economy, Wang said.