German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke about electric vehicle tariffs and the war in Ukraine on the margins of the Group of 20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
Xi is hoping that Germany could be a mediator to help resolve the tariffs issue with the European Union. Recently, the EU confirmed new tariffs on imported EVs from China, as an investigation by the bloc uncovered how local companies received unfair state aid. China complained about the new tariffs, raising pressure of a possible trade war between China and the EU. Germany, due to pressure from its own car making industry, has been critical of new tariffs, fearing possible new import duties from China for its own cars.
After the meeting, Chinese state news agency Xinhua released a readout from Xi who stated that “it is hoped that Europe and China will resolve the issue of electric vehicles through dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible, and the German side is willing to make active efforts in this regard.”
A German spokesperson confirmed the meeting, saying that the two leaders spoke for 30 minutes about several topics, with a focus on geopolitical issues like the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East.
After the talk with Xi, Scholz said that “it is important for us to talk about major problems and challenges. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, for example, or dangerous situations we see elsewhere in the world.”
The Chancellor mentioned the economic cooperation between the two countries and how “it is important that we ensure that a level playing field accompanies the economic activities of companies on all sides, that is central to the conditions for future work.”
