China and EU Resume Talks Over Minimum Prices for Chinese Electric Vehicles

China’s commerce ministry said talks with European Union officials on the bloc’s proposal to set a minimum import price for China made electric vehicles have resumed, and will continue into the coming week. Beijing framed the discussions as technical and policy oriented, and urged the EU to pursue government to government consultations rather than direct talks with individual manufacturers. The development comes as Brussels weighs a measure intended to prevent below cost imports from undercutting domestic producers.

The EU proposal is aimed at protecting European automakers and jobs by ensuring a floor under prices for Chinese built battery electric vehicles. European officials have expressed concern that rapid imports of low priced China made EVs are gaining market share in the bloc, eroding returns for incumbent producers at a time when margins are already under pressure from investments in electrification. The auto sector directly and indirectly employs more than 13 million people in the EU, and auto manufacturing remains a strategic industrial pillar for many member states.

China is the dominant global producer of electric vehicles and battery cells, accounting for roughly two thirds of global EV production and commanding a substantial share of battery manufacturing capacity. Chinese companies such as BYD and the battery maker known globally as CATL have accelerated exports to Europe in recent years, while European manufacturers continue to source key components from Chinese suppliers. That integration has made supply chains efficient but also politically sensitive.

Market implications could be material. A minimum import price would raise the effective entry price for China made EVs in Europe, reducing downward pressure on new car prices and providing some relief to European makers as they invest billions to build battery cell plants and electric vehicle assembly capacity on the continent. Brussels has already mobilized significant public support for battery production and vehicle electrification through state aid and investment frameworks, cumulatively amounting to tens of billions of euros aimed at creating a local value chain.

At the same time, a firm safeguard could provoke retaliatory measures or accelerate diversification efforts by Chinese suppliers. China’s insistence on government to government talks signals a broader aim to keep trade disputes within official channels and to avoid ad hoc bilateral commercial negotiations. The trade measure will also be scrutinized for compatibility with World Trade Organization rules and EU treaty obligations on the internal market.

For consumers the short term effect could be higher prices for some models if import price floors are adopted. In the medium and long term the move could speed regionalization of EV supply chains, encouraging more cell manufacturing and component assembly inside Europe. That would shift investment flows and may reduce the share of China in final assembly and components over time, but it will also raise costs for manufacturers and possibly slow vehicle turnover if price increases feed into lower sales.

The resumed talks are therefore not merely a tariff technicality. They are a negotiation over industrial policy, market structure and geopolitical economic influence in the transition to electric mobility. Outcomes this week and next will be watched by carmakers, component suppliers and governments on both sides as they reposition for a market that is still expanding but increasingly contested.