Karel De Gucht, EU trade commissioner, is seeking to lay to rest a festering trade dispute with Beijing before he steps down this month, freeing up his successor to focus on a landmark deal with the US.
Mr De Gucht’s term as commissioner has been strongly coloured by tussles with China and last year he was scarred by a battle over the alleged dumping of Chinese solar panels in Europe.
This year, the EU’s deepest source of concern has been telecommunications, with the EU threatening to launch an investigation into whether mobile equipment makers Huawei and ZTE should be penalised for receiving illegal state subsidies – a charge that Beijing denies.