Chinese President Xi Jinping has met the prime ministers of Norway and Spain — key export destinations for Chinese electric vehicles — at a time when the European Union is contemplating tariffs on Chinese EVs.
In a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere in Beijing on Monday, Xi said their countries are able to expand cooperation in fields including EVs, since they are economically complementary.
The EU has unveiled a plan to impose an additional tariff of up to 36.3 percent on China-made EVs, alleging that their production is unfairly subsidized. EU member states are set to vote on the plan by the end of next month.
Xi’s remarks were seen as his attempt to sway the voting process in Beijing’s favor. This also comes at a time when Chinese EV makers are preparing to start production in both Norway and Spain.
Xi also met with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain — a major pork supplier to China — amid China’s ongoing anti-dumping probe into pork imported from the EU.
Sanchez told Xi that Spain does not support a trade war, and that his country is ready to contribute to the development of healthy ties between the EU and China.
Amid growing tensions with the United States, China is apparently trying to reach out to each EU member state as part of its efforts to maintain amicable trade relations with the bloc.