BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - China is putting pressure on the European Union to issue a strong joint statement against President Donald Trump’s trade policies at a summit later this month but is facing resistance, European officials said.
In meetings in Brussels, Berlin and Beijing, senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He and the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, have proposed an alliance between the two economic powers and offered to open more of the Chinese market in a gesture of goodwill.
One proposal has been for China and the European Union to launch joint action against the United States at the World Trade Organisation.
But the European Union, the world’s largest trading bloc, has rejected the idea of allying with Beijing against Washington, five EU officials and diplomats told Reuters, ahead of a Sino-European summit in Beijing on July 16-17.
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WNU Editor: China enjoys a $400 billion dollar trade surplus with the U.S., and the EU about $100 billion (give or take). In short .... a half a trillion dollar trade surplus with the U.S.. In my book this is not sustainable in the long run .... but for the Chinese they believe that it is, and I am sure the Europeans are going to be receptive to this Chinese offer. The punchline is that EU - Chinese trade is incredibly restrictive, and their tariffs and trade restrictions are tame in comparison to what President Trump wants. But even with these restrictions .... and talk about having big kahunas in hoping that the EU will sign onto this proposal .... China is currently enjoying a $175 billion dollar trade surplus with the EU!!!!
