Brussels announces second round of China-EU trade talks to be held in Beijing next month

The next round of China-EU trade talks is set to take place in Beijing from October 8 to 9, Brussels announced on Thursday following a video call between European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, adding that Europe wanted to see a “credible” outcome.

The European Commission said that during a call lasting more than an hour, the two sides reviewed “extensive work” carried out at senior-official level covering issues including the management of Chinese exports to Europe, European firms’ access to the Chinese market and China’s export controls on rare earths.

Brussels said it was important that the first concrete outcomes be delivered at the second round of talks under the EU-China Trade and Investment Consultations framework next month, which would signal that both sides were “moving from rhetoric to results”.