EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Tuesday that he has invited Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao to visit Brussels in the coming days to seek an “urgent solution” to the problem of China tightening its rare earth export restrictions.
“Minister Wang Wentao has accepted the invitation, so our teams will consult under the upgraded export control dialogue framework after the EU-China summit in July,” Šefčovič told reporters after a nearly two-hour call with Wang Wentao.
Šefčovič said the EU has no intention of escalating the situation, but the current situation is casting a shadow on EU-China relations, and a swift resolution is crucial. He described the tightened restrictions as “unreasonable and harmful,” but said the call with Wang Wentao was productive, with both sides agreeing to strengthen contact.
Šefčovič said EU companies have submitted eight priority application lists involving about 2,000 export licenses, but only just over half of them have been properly processed. He is also in communication with the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy regarding Nexperia. The Chinese-owned computer chip manufacturer was taken over by the Dutch government last month on the grounds of concerns that its technology could be transferred to its Chinese parent company. Šefčovič said both sides want to ease the situation and work towards reaching a practical agreement.