EU trade chief opens Beijing talks as Germany blocks a COSCO purchase

What this means

China's export surplus is meeting tariffs, investment screening, and controls on strategic logistics assets such as ports and shipping. European manufacturers in steel, chemicals and vehicles gain protection, while Chinese state logistics companies lose access to European infrastructure. China's main leverage is rare earths, and the moratorium's expiry gives Beijing a lever in the same weeks. Investors had expected trade friction. What is new is that Germany and France are jointly asking for stronger tools at the same time that Germany has blocked a Chinese acquisition. That contradicts the desk's thesis that France is breaking away from its allies. On China trade, Paris and Berlin are acting together. The precedent is 2024, when the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Beijing answered with investigations into European brandy and pork. The desk's read is that over the next several months the talks produce limited rare-earth assurances but no reduction in the surplus, and the EU adds trade-defense measures. That read assumes China keeps exports growing faster than imports. A Chinese commitment to specific import purchases or an extended rare-earth moratorium announced during the visit would point to a negotiated pause.