China will work with the European Union (EU) to continue promoting bilateral trade in dual-use items, He Yadong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
He made the remarks in response to a media query about rare earth export licenses to the EU.
"China is willing to continue facilitating the approval of licenses for rare earth exports to Europe, and hopes the European side will reciprocate by facilitating the resolution of key licensing cases involving China in the dual-use sector. China will work with the European side to keep leveraging the export control dialogue mechanism and promote bilateral trade in dual-use items," he said.
The China-EU Export Control Dialogue Mechanism operates under the broader China-EU Trade and Investment Consultation (TIC) Mechanism established on June 29 this year.
Following the second meeting of the TIC mechanism in Beijing last week, China and the EU said in a joint statement that they had reached agreement on a list of outcomes. The list sets out 16 specific points of consensus covering trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property rights and World Trade Organization (WTO) reform.
According to the statement, China expressed its willingness to continue facilitating the processing of export license applications for rare earths and permanent magnets destined for the EU through a "green channel" mechanism, while the EU, together with its member states, will continue to facilitate the resolution of key licensing cases involving China in the dual-use sector.
China ready to work with EU to promote trade in dual-use items: spokesman
China ready to work with EU to promote trade in dual-use items: spokesman
China ready to work with EU to promote trade in dual-use items: spokesman
