(Berlin) The German Minister of Economy and Climate will travel to China next week, a delicate visit at a time when the EU is considering increasing taxes on Chinese electric vehicles to curb their imports.
The visit of Robert Habeck, one of the heavyweights of Olaf Scholz’s government, will take place from Friday to Sunday, with stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, according to a provisional schedule.
China is one of Germany’s main trading partners and the trip will discuss “political developments within the EU […], bilateral economic relations and other global challenges, such as protection of climate,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Economy told the press on Friday.
The minister, from the Green party, “will not be able to avoid addressing the subject” of EU taxes on Chinese electric vehicles, but he “does not speak or negotiate on behalf of the European Commission, it ‘it’s the European Commission itself that does it,” this spokesperson insisted.
Chinese electric vehicles are in the sights of Brussels, which has just announced surcharges to prevent them from spreading across the European continent.
The European Commission said on Wednesday it wanted to impose up to 38% additional customs duties on imports of Chinese electric vehicles into the EU from July 4, while Beijing is accused of having illegally favored its manufacturers.
The Ministry of the Economy said this week that it was banking on dialogue between Beijing and Brussels to find common ground on the conditions for fair competition in electric cars.
“The European Commission itself has clearly expressed its interest in finding a solution with the Chinese government. We of course support these discussions,” the German Economy Ministry reiterated on Friday.
China remained Germany’s largest trading partner for the eighth consecutive year in 2023, narrowly ahead of the United States.
But against a backdrop of economic slowdown in both countries and a new German strategy to reduce its economic dependence, the first quarter of 2024 marked an inflection point: imports from the Asian giant fell by 11.7% year-on-year, relegating the country ranked as Berlin’s second largest trading partner over the first three months of the year.