EU tariffs on Chinese EVs top agenda at Stuttgart auto summit

China

EU tariffs on Chinese EVs top agenda at Stuttgart auto summit

2024-10-20 17:53 Last Updated At：10-21 00:07

The ongoing tariff issue between the European Union and China was a major discussion point among attendees of the Stuttgart's Automotive Management Summit, an event that brings together the biggest names in the European car business.

The summit, themed "Looking to the future", saw delegates sharing their insights on the impact of tariffs and discussing challenges facing the automotive industry at large.

When it comes to electric vehicles, the main issues and concerns surround pricing as cars manufactured in Europe are significantly more expensive than those built in China.

The latter has prompted the EU Commission to push for tariffs as high as 45 percent on some Chinese EVs coming into the EU.

The commission says subsidies given to Chinese manufacturers create an unfair playing field. In response, China has called the tariffs unfair, and its Ministry of Commerce says the situation has seriously affected the two sides' cooperation in the automotive industry.

Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized the tariffs. Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told CGTN he agreed, warning that tariffs on Chinese manufactured EVs will end up being detrimental to the European car industry.

"We do oppose tariffs. We don't think that's the right measure because at the end of the day this is going to be an escalating mechanism where nobody benefits and competition at the end of the day, if it's fair and if it's free, is the benefit for consumers in terms of choice, costs, innovation and so on and so forth. So we oppose those kinds of instruments," he said.

The Chinese side has invited the EU to send a team to China to continue discussing an alternative to tariffs.

However, as the tariff deadline looms, Christian Ach, BMW's head of the German market, told CGTN he hopes a solution can be found.

"There are still discussions, and I'm very optimistic and positive that we will get a good solution for both sides, for the Chinese towards Europe and for the Europeans towards China," said Ach.

Without that breakthrough in the next two weeks, the new tariffs on Chinese EVs will come into effect on October 31.

Wildfire extinguished in south China's Guangdong after 17 hours of efforts

A wildfire that engulfed part of a forest in Shantou City of south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday has been extinguished after 17 hours of concerted efforts by multiple departments including emergency response, firefighting and public security units.

Villagers living at the foot of Xianglu Mountain were the first to notice the fire erupting on its slopes.

"It looked far away and I thought it was just someone burning garbage," recalled one villager.

Upon discovering the fire, local authorities immediately organized personnel to combat the flames, with mobilization of over 200 rescuers from surrounding areas to assist in the firefighting efforts.

"We were divided into two to three groups, with one conducting regular firefighting and another using water pumps to extinguish the fire," said one rescuer.

Given the rapid spread of the fire, local officials also called in aerial support with helicopters to aid in extinguishing the blaze. Furthermore, many personnel organized by local grassroots departments were actively involved in the firefighting efforts.

By 06:00 on Monday, the wildfire was finally extinguished without causing any casualties. The dry climate in winter increases the risk of forest fire in the region. However, the cause of the forest fire is still under investigation.