Macron and EU Leaders Urge Xi Jinping to Resolve 'Dumping Export' Issue

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Union (EU) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged Chinese President Xi Jinping, who made a state visit to France on the 6th (local time), to resolve the issue of dumping exports. This is Xi's first visit to France in five years since 2019.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

After a three-way meeting lasting over an hour at the ?lys?e Palace in Paris, Commission President von der Leyen held a press conference and said, "We urged the Chinese government to address the structural overproduction problem." She added, "China continues to provide massive support to the manufacturing sector, including electric vehicles, but the world cannot absorb China's overproduction," and stressed, "For fair trade, market access must be reciprocal."

Before the meeting began, in their public remarks, they pointed out, "Europe and China have significant economic relations, but these are threatened by state-led overproduction and unequal market access."

President Macron also emphasized in his public remarks, "We have a responsibility to ensure fair rules for all in trade between Europe and China."

Regarding this, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that President Xi said, "The so-called 'issue of China's overproduction capacity' does not exist when viewed from the perspective of comparative advantage or global demand." Xi also expressed hope that "the EU will develop a correct understanding of China and adopt a positive China policy," adding, "It is necessary to properly resolve economic and trade frictions through dialogue and consultation and to accommodate each other's legitimate concerns."

China has had disputes with the EU over subsidies and low-price sales of electric vehicles and solar panels. In response, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce initiated an anti-dumping investigation earlier this year on imported brandy originating from the EU, escalating trade frictions.

The Ukraine war, another major agenda item of the three-way meeting, also revealed differences in positions between the EU and China.

After the meeting, Commission President von der Leyen said, "We also discussed China's commitment not to provide lethal equipment to Russia," emphasizing, "Greater efforts are needed to reduce China's supply of dual-use goods that could be diverted for military purposes to Russia."

In response, President Xi said, "China neither caused the Ukraine crisis nor is a party to it," and added, "China's objective and fair stance and constructive role are widely recognized by the international community."

Although gaps remain between the EU and China on trade and security issues, the fact that a high-level face-to-face meeting was held was regarded as meaningful.

Despite their differences, Commission President von der Leyen said at the meeting, "We had frank and open exchanges and discussions." The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also commented, "The three leaders enhanced mutual understanding, formed a consensus for cooperation, and identified ways to resolve issues through this three-way meeting."