中国商务部长将与美国商务部长讨论电动汽车关税

报道称：“两国商务部长的沟通将有助于促进中美经贸关系稳定发展，为两国企业开展互利合作创造良好条件。”

今年 1 月，王毅对美国限制芯片制造光刻机出口以及华盛顿对半导体供应链的调查表示“严重关切”。

两国在一系列经济和技术问题上仍然存在分歧。

美国对中国电动汽车征收关税是一项更广泛措施的一部分，该措施涵盖总价值 180 亿美元的商品，包括太阳能电池板和锂离子电池，以回应“北京的不公平贸易行为”。

此前对中国电动汽车征收的关税为 25%。

中国商务部副部长王受文上个月在中国天津会见美国商务部负责国际贸易的副部长玛丽莎·拉戈时对中国的关税表示抗议。

拉戈则对“中国持续的非市场化政策和做法，以及一系列工业领域的产能过剩”表示担忧。

西方国家一再指责中国利用过剩的工业产能向其市场投放廉价出口产品，尤其是电动汽车，并表示中国对汽车制造商的补贴正在威胁其国内制造商。

北京方面否认了“产能过剩”的指控，称其为保护主义的借口。

两周前，王毅访问布鲁塞尔与欧盟贸易专员东布罗夫斯基斯举行会谈，努力解决争端，并访问了意大利和德国，与政府高级官员讨论这一问题。

彭博社周六报道称，欧盟计划对中国制造的电动汽车进一步征收高达 45% 的关税。

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will discuss US restrictions on electric vehicles with his American counterpart Gina Raimondo, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The talks will also cover other “key economic and trade issues”, the report added, and come as Beijing is trying to avert European Union tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

On Friday, the EU’s 27 member states are expected to vote on the European Commission’s proposal to impose tariffs of up to 35.3 per cent on the vehicles for the next five years because of concerns about state subsidies.

The United States imposed tariffs of 100 per cent on Chinese-made EVs in May.

Wang and Raimondo last spoke by phone in January and Xinhua said the latest proposed call is part of a communication mechanism, which Wang has stressed must remain “active”.

“The communication between the two commerce ministers will help promote the stable development of China-US economic and trade relations and create favourable conditions for mutually beneficial cooperation between enterprises of the two countries,” the report said.

In January, Wang raised “serious concerns” over US restrictions on the export of chip-making lithography machines, as well as Washington’s investigation into semiconductor supply chains.

The two countries remain at odds over a wide range of economic and technological issues.

The US tariffs on Chinese EVs are part of a wider package that covers goods worth US$18 billion in total, including solar panels and lithium-ion batteries, in response to “Beijing’s unfair trade practices”.

Previous tariffs on Chinese EVs were 25 per cent.

China’s vice-minister for commerce, Wang Shouwen, protested about the tariffs when he met the US undersecretary of commerce for international trade Marisa Lago in the Chinese city of Tianjin last month.

In turn, Lago expressed concern about “China’s continued non-market policies and practices, and overcapacity in a range of industrial sectors”.

Western countries have repeatedly accused China of using its excess industrial capacity to flood their markets with cheap exports, especially EVs, saying Chinese subsidies to carmakers are threatening their domestic manufacturers.

Beijing has rejected the “overcapacity” accusations, calling them excuses for protectionism.

Two weeks ago, Wang visited Brussels for talks with EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis in an effort to resolve the dispute and also visited Italy and Germany to discuss the issue with senior government officials.

On Saturday, Bloomberg reported that the EU was planning further tariffs of up to 45 per cent on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

​