EU and China meet and discuss ways of dealing with Trump’s tough trade tariffs

China and the European Union are seeking ways to confront US President Donald Trump’s belligerence on trade during a high-level dialogue today Monday, June 24th, in addition to settling their differences on investment restrictions.

“The elephant in the room is Trump and his view on the global trade order. This issue will eclipse everything else,” said Jan Weidenfeld, analyst of Europe-China relations at the Mercator Institute for China Studies. “Both sides are under pressure to avoid a public spat, which would dilute their ability to signal to the Americans that they’re not happy.

“We are there – we are having a very frank conversation now, and we would be having a much franker discussion if we didn’t have all the trouble with the US administration.”

“China and Europe are facing the common challenge of US actions in trade and multilateral institutions, which gives them more room to cooperate,” said Cui Hongjian, director of the Department for European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

Read more: EU and China to meet and discuss ways of dealing with Trump’s tough trade tariffs | South China Morning Post