Visit to the Renault Sandouville factory in Normandy
The Chinese Minister of Commerce will meet the current president of the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (Acea) and CEO of Renault Luca de Meo this Sunday in France, a source close to the matter told Reuters.
This meeting occurs on the first day of Wang Wentao’s European tour, in a tense context over electric vehicles.
Reuters reported at the end of March on the minister’s desire to defend Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers after the opening of an anti-subsidy investigation by the European Commission.
Expected in France on April 7, he must be accompanied by representatives of Chinese manufacturers BYD, Geely and SAIC.
According to another source close to the matter, BYD’s general manager for Europe, Michael Shu, will accompany him.
No comment could immediately be obtained from Acea, BYD or the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Amid concerns about an ultra-competitive Chinese offensive in battery-powered vehicles, the EU executive has opened an investigation into whether to impose tariffs on Chinese imports to protect carmakers Europeans.
The conclusions should be released by November.
Beijing disputes the fact that the growth of its electric vehicle manufacturers is linked to subsidies which make them much more competitive with their competitors and accuses the European Union of “protectionism”.
In response to France, which supports the European investigation, China in turn opened an anti-subsidy investigation targeting cognac imports.
In this context, the International Interprofessional Cognac Bureau confirmed its participation in a meeting with Wang Wentao on Monday, under the aegis of the French Ministry of the Economy, alongside business leaders.
“The spirits sector is of course represented because it is one of the first to be attacked by the tense dialogue between France, China and the EU,” a sector source told Reuters.
The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, has also planned an interview with Wang Wentao on Monday afternoon.
The visit of the Chinese minister, who will also go to Italy to meet the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, precedes that of Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for May in Paris, which will be largely devoted to trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing.
(Gilles Guillaume and Elizabeth Pineau, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)