EU sets October deadline as China rejects 'market-closure' trade threats

Summary

After three rounds of talks in Beijing (31 Aug-2 Sep) between Vice Minister Ling Ji and the EU's Denis Redonnet, Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic warned of 'all trade defense tools' and a October deadline. MOFCOM rejected unilateral demands and market-closure threats, noting China-EU trade reached 3.67 trillion yuan (+9.5% YoY) in Jan-Jul; a ministerial meeting is set for early October.