China – Europe – USA: Tug-of-War over Trade Hurts Global Economy
Washington accuses China of “helping Russia export uranium to the USA”
The duties imposed by the European Union on imports of Chinese electric cars will “seriously hamper” trade and investment cooperation between China and EU countries, including Germany. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao issued this warning in Berlin in a conversation with German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
According to Wang, the policy of mutual protectionism is a road leading nowhere. He hopes for a ruling that “respects World Trade Organization (WTO) rules aimed at preventing escalation of economic friction between China and the EU.” The Chinese minister expects Germany, which is experiencing a number of economic problems, to “proceed from its own interests” and encourage the European Commission to work in the same direction as China.
The meeting followed the announcement that the European Commission is “inclined to propose final and exorbitant (35.3%) tariffs on electric cars made in China, plus the EU’s standard 10 percent customs duty on imported cars.”
Wang’s visit to Germany is part of a European tour during which the Chinese minister will also visit Brussels.
Warning from Mario Draghi
European economic policy represents a fundamental choice on which the future fate of the Old Continent depends. As former Prime Minister and former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told the European Parliament in Strasbourg when presenting his report on the future of European competitiveness in green technology, Europe is faced with a trade-off: on the one hand, greater dependence on China may offer “the cheapest way to achieve climate goals.” On the other hand, Chinese competition “poses a threat to European industry,” as well as the promise that “the green transition will bring, in quotes, good green jobs.”
“Chinese competition in green energy technologies is getting tougher, thanks to a powerful combination of subsidies, innovation, and scale,” Draghi said. We will not be able to deal with this problem using black and white solutions. This is why the report suggests a differentiated approach depending on sectors and technologies: there are some technologies, such as solar panels, in which foreign manufacturers are too far ahead, and trying to move production to Europe will only delay decarbonization.”
US delegation arrives in Beijing, and new accusations are heard from Washington regarding China-Russian cooperation
In an effort to ease tensions between the USA and China, a delegation of US officials, led by Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh is arriving in Beijing this week for a series of high-level meetings on Thursday and Friday, September 19-20, organized in light of “Washington’s concern over the growing presence of cheap Chinese products in the global marketplace.” According to the Wall Street Journal, the meetings will take place as part of a working group formed last year by the two governments to strengthen bilateral communication in light of growing competition at the economic and commercial level: “It is important to have a reliable channel of communication to discuss economic issues with our Chinese counterparts: during our trip, we will continue to discuss Beijing’s industrial policies and related macroeconomic imbalances that risk causing significant harm to workers and businesses in the United States and around the world,” Shambaugh told the newspaper.
The talks between the USA and China will take place against the backdrop of a new accusation brought by Washington against Beijing: US authorities suspect China of “assisting the Russian nuclear industry by importing enriched uranium and re-exporting it to the United States.” In December 2023, the US House of Representatives banned uranium imports from Russia as part of its sanctions policy against Moscow.
For entire decades, the USA, which operates numerous nuclear power plants, has been one of the main importers of Russian uranium. After imposing a blockade on imports from Russia, the United States has been forced to turn to China, which has imported 243 tons of uranium from the world’s second-largest economy in recent months, some of which is now suspected to be of Russian origin.
