EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on China to ensure a “negotiated resolution” to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Von der Leyen and Qiang discussed setting up a “mechanism for tracking possible trade diversion and ensuring any developments are duly addressed.”
She said that they had “a constructive discussion during which they took stock of bilateral and global issues.”
She added that “2025 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties” between the EU and China.
She also said there was an “urgency for structural solutions to rebalance the bilateral trade relationship and ensure better access for European businesses, products and services to the Chinese market.”
The 27-nation EU bloc is currently facing 25 percent import tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars, with tariffs of 20 percent due to kick in from April 9 for almost all other goods under Trump’s new policy of responding in kind to countries that he says impose high barriers to U.S. imports.
On Monday evening, the commission proposed its first retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on a range of U.S. imports from dental floss to diamonds.
On April 7, Trump threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on China if Beijing did not withdraw its retaliatory measures on U.S. goods.
The warning follows China’s announcement last week of 34 percent retaliatory tariffs and other trade restrictions in response to the administration’s April 2 rollout of reciprocal duties.
