EU trade chief heads to Beijing as hybrid car imports sharpen China talks

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič headed to Beijing on Wednesday, 7 October, for talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao scheduled for Thursday and Friday. The European Union wants progress on its trade imbalance with China before leaders meet in Brussels on 15–16 October. Rising imports of Chinese cars, especially plug-in hybrids, are among its concerns, but no agreement or new restriction has been announced.

The talks follow about three months of discussions, according to Reuters. Šefčovič has sought tangible results by October and a commitment he can put before EU leaders next week. That timetable makes the Beijing meetings a test of whether the two sides can agree on a concrete step, rather than another round of discussions.

Why Chinese hybrid cars are part of the talks

EU imports of plug-in hybrid cars rose 86% in the year to September, while their prices fell 20%, Reuters reported. Imports of battery-electric vehicles rose 40%. More than half of the vehicles in those two categories came from China, according to the same report. Those figures describe import trends across the categories; they do not show how much of the overall EU-China trade deficit comes from hybrid cars.

The distinction between hybrids and battery-electric cars matters for EU policy. The bloc imposed duties on battery-electric vehicles built in China in October 2024, but those duties did not cover hybrids, The Guardian reported. Its account said hybrid exports subsequently boomed. The existing battery-electric duties therefore cannot simply be described as a restriction on the hybrid imports now under discussion.

What Brussels wants from Beijing

The car dispute sits within a broader EU-China negotiation. Reuters put the EU’s goods trade deficit with China at more than €1 billion a day and said the Commission also wants greater access to the Chinese market for EU companies. It reported that Brussels is pressing China to cap some exports, though it remains unclear which products Beijing might agree to cover. Chinese restrictions on rare earths and other critical minerals are another issue in the talks.

Euronews reported that Commission-led negotiations began in June and had made little progress by 6 October. It also reported Chinese objections to voluntary export restrictions. A Chinese spokesperson said in September that a solution should balance both sides’ interests and comply with World Trade Organization rules and domestic law, according to Euronews. That broader position does not establish Beijing’s answer to the EU’s reported September request about hybrids.

Pressure within the EU has also grown. Euronews reported that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron called this week for full use of existing EU trade-defence instruments and a framework for new legal tools. Their proposal signals a tougher shared position by the bloc’s two largest economies, but it is a request for policy action, not an enacted import measure.

What could change after the Beijing meetings

For European carmakers and their workers, the question is whether talks will lead to limits on competing imports or other trade measures. For Chinese exporters, any agreed cap or later EU safeguard could affect access to the European market. Buyers would also have a stake in any change to the availability or price of imported cars. The reports reviewed do not establish that this week’s talks have already changed sales, jobs, prices or consumer choice.

The immediate test is what Šefčovič and Wang can agree on during Thursday’s and Friday’s meetings, and what the Commission can present at the 15–16 October leaders’ summit. The product scope, legal form and timing of any commitment remain open. Until an outcome is announced, the reported hybrid-car proposal is a negotiating aim, while the 2024 duties remain a measure covering battery-electric vehicles.