China EU Photo: VCG

China and EU have concluded productive talks during the 10th High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue through candid and pragmatic discussions addressing investment, trade, industrial and supply chain issues as well as financial cooperation, with the two sides reaching consensus on them, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.

The dialogue, which came amid a profoundly changing world and a sluggishly global economy, has "special meanings," the ministry said, noting it will inject more confidence into the development of the world economy,  while make preparations for the 24th China-EU Leaders' Meeting soon.

The dialogue, which held both bilateral and global significance, has generated more consensus than difference, which has brought silver lining to global uncertainties rising from geopolitical tensions, experts said.

Both sides are committed to maintaining two-way openness and providing a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for each other's companies. 

China is willing make full use of dialogue mechanisms such as the China-EU Trade and Investment Policy Dialogue and the China-EU Economic and Trade Working Group to strengthen exchanges between the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade.

The importance of transparent and predictable supply chains was discussed, in particular for critical raw materials. Both sides agreed to continue discussions on reaching China-EU transparency mechanism of supply chains for raw materials.

The two sides agreed to establish a dialogue mechanism in the field of export control and conduct communication on export control policies and practices.

Concerning EU's recently launched probes including review on foreign subsidy, carbon border adjustment mechanism and other trade policies, China expressed the hope that EU will use trade remedy measures prudently while encouraging deeper cooperation in the new energy industry represented by electric vehicles (EVs). 

Earlier this month, the EU announced the launch of an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese-made EVs in order to protect Europe's own nascent EV industry.

The two sides also addressed some specific issues, such as easing approvals for EU makers of cosmetics. And the Chinese authorities are committed to clearing the backlog of applications for licenses of infant formula.

In the financial sector, China and EU took a pragmatic step forward by setting up a new China-EU Working Group on Financial Regulation to work on key areas including mutually opening up investment opportunities in financial markets for financial institutions, ensuring continued cooperation in sustainable finance and fin-tech, and improving rules on ICT infrastructure for the financial sector. It will look at regulation for foreign financial institutions, including on the possibility to share financial data cross border.

China is willing to seriously study and consider including more EU banks with legal entities in China within the scope of carbon emission reduction support tools, the ministry said.

Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Tuesday that "the dialogue has both bilateral and global significance, and there are more areas of consensus than difference."

"The two parties have fully communicated, based on their respective positions and reached consensus on issues that they will face together in the future, laying an open and positive foundation for future cooperation, which is significant amid growing uncertainties caused by global geopolitical tensions," Li said.

China's attitude toward European financial cooperation is positive and open, Li said, noting the cooperation communication mechanism is clear, which shows China's sincerity in exploring more cooperation possibilities for European companies in Chinese market.