China, EU to hold second meeting of trade, investment consultation mechanism this autumn

BEIJING -- China and the European Union will hold the second meeting of their trade and investment consultation mechanism this autumn, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The mechanism is a newly established regular dialogue platform for China-EU economic and trade exchanges. The two sides have agreed to hold one or two ministerial-level meetings each year under the mechanism, ministry spokesman He Yadong told a regular news conference.

During the first meeting, the two sides focused on three areas to promote more balanced growth in bilateral trade, rather than reducing trade to achieve balance, He noted.

In emerging sectors, the two sides will pursue closer cooperation in artificial intelligence and the green transition. They will further tap the potential for cooperation in areas including services trade. The two sides will also advance market access consultations to gradually address each other's concerns, according to He.

He said the two sides had reached a consensus on a new characterization of China-EU economic and trade relations, agreeing that China and the EU are each other's stable and balanced key trading partners.

The consensus will help improve expectations among businesses on both sides and inject greater certainty and positive momentum into the economic development of China, the EU and the world, He added.

China has invited European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security and Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maros Šefčovič to visit China this autumn for the second meeting of the mechanism, according to He.