Germany’s foreign minister called for calm amid a mounting trade spat between the EU and China over critical mineral export curbs on Monday – just days after the bloc’s top brass threatened to fire their most powerful trade weapon at Beijing.
“We want a close dialogue with China,” Johann Wadephul told reporters during a visit to Brussels, where he met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
The comments come two days after von der Leyen said in Berlin that the Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, was “ready to use all of the instruments in our toolbox” in retaliation against Beijing’s announcement of sweeping export controls on rare earths earlier this month.
The remarks were widely interpreted as a thinly veiled threat to use the EU executive’s much vaunted anti-coercion instrument – informally known as the ‘trade bazooka’ – against the world’s second-largest economy.
French President Emmanuel Macron also floated using the instrument – which would allow Brussels to target services, impose investment restrictions, and suspend company licences – during a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, according to three EU diplomats briefed on the discussions.
China accounts for 70% of mining and 90% of refining of the world’s rare earth metals, which are used to produce numerous advanced technologies including smartphones, electric vehicles, and fighter planes.
The German foreign minister’s comments also come after he abruptly cancelled a trip to Beijing last week – a move that some interpreted as a further sign of growing tensions between the EU and China, which have long been strained over Beijing’s enormous trade surplus and close ties to Russia.
The Asian country is Germany’s biggest trade partner, with imports and exports totalling €163 billion from January to August this year.
Wadephul said he was pushing for “sustainable solutions” to ensure European firms’ access to raw minerals. “This is about nothing less than the economic power, prosperity and innovative strength of our continent,” he added.
Chinese officials also sought to ease tensions between Beijing and Berlin on Monday, with a foreign ministry spokesperson stressing their “mutually beneficial” relationship, as reported by state media outlet Global Times.
(vib)
