Latest EU-China trade talks just finished. EU side represented by @VDombrovskis & @PhilHoganEU, China by Xi’s top trade aide, Liu He, who signed phase 1 deal with Trump. Key takeaways:

EU laid bare the issues yet to be fulfilled by China for the investment agreement talks:

- Market access: EU requested China to authorise exports of agricultural products currently awaiting export authorisation, as it is the case in the beef and poultry sector.

- Covid-related barrier: The EU outlined concerns about new restrictions introduced on food exports, on the ground of controlling coronavirus, leading to an increased number of unjustified inspections, controls and requests for certificates on EU exports of agricultural products.

- EU reiterated its request for improvements of China's offer in the telecommunication and computer sectors, health, biotechnology and new energy vehicles. (Case in point: Poor market share for Nokia and Ericsson vs Huawei in China’s 5G rollout)

- Sustainable development: EU insisted upon the political importance of “meaningful commitments” in this area and the “need for China to increase its ambition and engagement”. (Context: China continues to rely on coal - with new plants planned for Belt and Road countries)

- Financial cooperation: Discussed a range or regulatory issues in the financial services area, including cooperation on green finance, equivalence assessments, and the international role of the Euro and of the RMB.

- State subsidies: “In line with the 2019 EU-China Summit Joint Statement, the EU reiterated the urgent need for China to engage in future negotiations on industrial subsidies.”

While European Commission VP Dombrovskis vows to join hands with Beijing, trade commissioner Hogan adopts a tougher line. Good cop, bad cop?