EU and China open trade talks in Beijing amid rising tensions

EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič began two days of talks in Beijing on Thursday with China's commerce minister Wang Wentao, seeking "tangible results" EU leaders can weigh at their Brussels summit later this month. The EU's trade deficit with China is above one billion euros a day, Beijing has recently tightened export curbs on rare earths, and China has rejected an EU request for voluntary limits on hybrid car exports. Macron and Merz have pushed for a new trade tool that could be activated quickly against countries like China; Beijing says it will meet any such move with a "resolute response".

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