Beijing asked the European Union to quickly correct its wrong actions and work together to protect the stability of China-EU economic and trade cooperation, the industrial chain, and the supply of electric vehicles.

In an interview with the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations website, Morteza Makki stated: “The trade war between China and the European Union has reached a tense point over the tariffs the European Union has imposed on Chinese electric cars. “Since Chinese car manufacturers use subsidies to produce electric cars, the price of these cars in Europe has a relative advantage over other electric cars, and they have more competitive power than other car manufacturers.”

According to Makki, for this reason, the import of electric cars from China to the European Union has multiplied and increased from 1.6 billion dollars in 2020 to 11 billion dollars in 2023. Europe has become the most important foreign market for China’s electric vehicles.

The expert on European issues continued: “Following the increase in the export of electric cars, the European Union also increased the import tariff of Chinese electric cars, which caused China to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization and declare the European Union’s action a violation of the organization’s rules. “Although the World Trade Organization has not yet issued its vote on this issue, this is the beginning of a great competition and commercial tension between China and the European Union.”

Makki explained: “This Brussels policy is also considered in line with American policies. The American government has increased the import tariff of Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100%, and in a way, it can be concluded that America and Europe are adopting a common trade policy in the field of commercial and economic cooperation with China.

He emphasized: “Certainly, this trade war policy between China and the European Union is not limited to the issue of electric cars. Perhaps these trade disputes would be manageable if the parties were in a state of low-tension political cooperation. Still, since the tension and competition between the European Union and China is increasing in the political and security fields, these tensions will also extend to the commercial and economic fields. ”

This expert believes that any tension in the security and political fields is accompanied by an unpredictable increase in military and security costs, which can create tense conditions between China, the European Union, and the United States.

He explained: “Although these three economic poles have extensive financial and commercial cooperation and cover each other’s biggest markets, in the security and political field, especially after Russia attacked Ukraine, they have entered a tense period and a lot of security competition./

Makki said: “The statement issued against Beijing at the NATO summit in Washington clearly clarifies the perspective of the relations between the United States and the European Union with China, that the parties are in heavy competition in various fields, including trade and economy. It has received more attention than other areas.”

He emphasized, “Brussels and Washington have many tools at their disposal to pressure China.” It should be noted that China attracts the most European and American foreign capital, and most of the famous European and American brands have invested heavily in it. This attraction has enabled China to obtain large markets in Europe and America.

According to this expert, the increase in political tension between China, the United States, and the European Union has caused us to witness new economic approaches between the parties, as the United States and the Union are trying to acquire many American companies.

European countries should transfer their capital from China to other East and South Asian countries.

Makki emphasized that the statistics of the increase in investments in India and some other East Asian countries clearly show that the political and security tensions in the economic field have also changed many approaches.

Finally, he said that the increase in tariffs on electric cars entering Europe could be the beginning of serious trade tensions between the European Union and China.