As China and the EU begin crunch trade talks, optimism is in short supply

As China and the European Union began a fresh round of trade talks in Beijing on Thursday, observers on both sides appeared to agree on one thing: a big breakthrough was unlikely.

Chinese firms based in Europe said they hoped the talks could achieve some “limited progress” to help stabilise the trade relationship, while European analysts remained cautious about the potential outcome.

“They’re bound to get some results,” said a Chinese source with knowledge of the talks, adding that EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic “will not go home empty-handed”.