This episode contains segments on:
- Ministry of Commerce’s final ruling of anti-dumping probe into EU brandy imports;
- Ministry of Finance announcement of restrictions on medical device imports from the EU;
- China June Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index; and
- Caixin China Services Purchasing Managers Index in June.
Listeners are also invited to attend the webinar on 10th July to hear experts’ insights on the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and EU-China trade relations.
Contact:
We’d love to hear your feedback. Contact us at website@europeanchamber.com.cn.
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Read more:
China issues final ruling of anti-dumping probe into EU brandy imports
Ministry of Finance announcement of restrictions on medical device imports from the EU
Industrial producer prices fell 3.6% year-on-year in June 2025 – National Bureau of Statistics
国家统计局城市司首席统计师董莉娟解读2025年6月份CPI和PPI数据 – 国家统计局
Driving into CAI: Considerations and Perspectives for EU-China Trade Relations
Transcript:
Robbie: Hello and welcome to China ShortCuts,
Xinhe: The European Chamber’s weekly catchup on China’s business landscape.
Robbie: This episode was recorded on 9th July 2025.
(MUSIC)
Xinhe: On 4th July, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced the final ruling of its anti-dumping investigation into brandy imports from the European Union, following an initial investigation launched in January 2024.
Robbie: MOFCOM ruled that brandy imported from the EU is being dumped in the Chinese market, with duties ranging from 27.7 per cent to 34.9 per cent to be levied on European brandy imports as a result.
One day later, on 5th July, China’s Ministry of Commerce reported it had accepted price undertakings from 34 EU brandy producers, which had agreed to not to sell their products below a certain price threshold in the China market and will therefore be exempt from the new duties.
(MUSIC)
Xinhe: On 6th July, China’s Ministry of Finance announced that European medical device manufacturers would be excluded from government procurement tenders worth over 45 million renminbi, or approximately 5.3 million euros.
The development follows the EU electing last month to restrict Chinese medical device manufacturers from bidding for relevant EU public procurement tenders with a value over 5 million euros for a period of five years.
Robbie: The European Chamber is concerned that the Ministry of Finance’s announcement lacked specificity, increasing the uncertainty faced by European companies operating in China, and raising the risk that local government authorities—responsible for issuing public tenders—may enforce the measure in an overly stringent manner.
Xinhe: Although the Ministry of Finance’s notice stated that European-invested enterprises in China—or在华欧资企业—are to be exempt from the restriction, no guidelines have been issued clarifying what constitutes a ‘European-invested enterprise’.
Robbie: In addition, it is yet to clarified:
(MUSIC)
Xinhe: Amid ongoing prices wars in several saturated industry segments, deflationary pressures in China intensified in June, as producer prices entered their 33rd consecutive month of decline.
Robbie: Data published by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics on 9th July revealed that producer prices fell 3.6 per cent year-on-year, the sharpest decrease recorded since July 2023.
China’s Consumer Price Index—or CPI—registered a marginal 0.1% increase in June, relative to a year prior. However, the reading came on top of an already low base from last year and the CPI remains well short of the Chinese Government’s target of achieving ‘around 2 per cent’ consumer price inflation in 2025.
(MUSIC)
Xinhe: Findings of a private survey released on 2nd July suggest that China’s services sector continued to expand in June, for the 30th consecutive month.
Robbie: The Caixin China Services Purchasing Managers Index—which is based on surveys conducted by S&P Global and sent to purchasing managers at around 650 private and state-owned companies—stood at 50.6 points in June. The rate of growth slowed, however, down from 51.1 points in May.
Demand for services also increased at a slower pace, with new export orders falling for the second month in a row and at the fastest pace since December 2022. Employment at services firms contracted as a result, with survey respondents also linking this to cost concerns.
(MUSIC)
Xinhe: With multinational companies operating in an increasingly complex global environment, keeping up to date with the latest regulatory developments is extremely important.
Robbie: Negotiated over seven years, the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) had been set to put the two markets on a course for deepened engagement. However, after the EU and China reached a political agreement, ratification was put on ice in early 2021, after China sanctioned several European entities and members of the European parliament.
After China unilaterally lifted sanctions on European members of parliament in April this year, the possibility of the CAI being resurrected has been raised, particular in Chinese media.
Join us online on 10th July to hear experts’ insights on whether the terms of the agreement remains relevant and ambitious enough—and whether ratifying it could help put the EU and China on course to achieve a more sustainable relationship—or whether there are alternatives that would provide more value to the EU-China relationship. This event is open to both European Chamber members and non-members alike.
Xinhe: To learn more about the benefits of becoming a Chamber member, please click the link in the show notes.
(MUSIC)
Robbie: Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to tune in again next week.
Xinhe: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.