布鲁塞尔：欧盟贸易主管马罗什·谢夫乔维奇将于周四（10月8日）前往北京，进行为期两天的关键会晤，与中方官员会谈，试图避免贸易战爆发。
BRUSSELS: EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic will head to Beijing on Thursday (Oct 8) for two days of make-or-break meetings with Chinese officials to try to stave off a trade war.
欧盟已强化对华立场，旨在保护企业免受其认定为关键领域（包括汽车业）不公平竞争的冲击。
The European Union has toughened its stance towards Beijing to defend businesses against what it believes is unfair competition in critical sectors including cars.
欧洲领导人和观察家越来越多地警告“中国冲击2.0”，该术语用于描述中国企业向更高技术制造业转型，这正威胁着许多欧盟传统产业。
Increasingly European leaders and observers warn of a "China Shock 2.0", used to describe Chinese firms' shift into more high-tech manufacturing, which is threatening many traditional EU industries.
2000年代初的第一次冲击，见证了中国廉价、相对低技术含量的出口商品大量涌入，不仅冲击了欧洲，也冲击了全球制造商。
The first shock in the early 2000s saw a glut of cheap, more low-tech exports from China hurt manufacturers not just in Europe but around the world.
自6月以来，欧中官员一直陷入谈判，以解决布鲁塞尔对当前贸易失衡的担忧。
EU and Chinese officials have been locked in talks since June to address Brussels' concerns about the current trade imbalance.
欧盟同时正准备强化其贸易防御工具箱——但北京已威胁将对任何针对中国的举措进行报复。
The EU is simultaneously preparing to boost its trade defence toolbox - but Beijing has threatened to retaliate against any moves targeting China.
谢夫乔维奇在夏季曾警告，欧盟期望该进程在10月前取得“切实成果”，从而提高了本周会晤的赌注。但专家警告，不应对本周会晤抱有过高期待。
Sefcovic raised the stakes for this week's meetings in summer when he warned the EU expected "tangible results by October" from the process. But experts cautioned against expecting too much from this week's meetings.
“可能会有一些小进展，但我不会指望有任何重大突破，”美国德国马歇尔基金会（GMF）智库布鲁塞尔办公室主任彭妮·纳斯表示。
"There may be a few crumbs, but I would not expect any kind of major breakthrough," Penny Naas, director of the Brussels office of German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) think tank, said.
上海中欧国际工商学院（CEIBS）经济学教授朱天表示，可能会“在一些具体问题上达成协议，而非对贸易关系进行任何广泛性解决”。
There could be "agreements on some specific issues, rather than any broad settlement of the trade relationship", said Zhu Tian, professor of economics at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai.
显而易见，布鲁塞尔清楚谈判无法解决所有困境，欧盟委员会正在同步推进新工具以保护欧洲产业，预计将于12月提交领导人审议。“令人担忧的趋势”欧盟希望削减其对华贸易逆差。
It is clear Brussels is aware the talks won't solve all of its woes, with the commission working in parallel on new tools to protect European industries, which are expected to be presented to leaders in December. "WORRYING TRENDS" What the EU wants is to cut its trade deficit with China.
2025年，这一数字达到约3600亿欧元（约合4040亿美元），意味着欧盟从该亚洲国家的进口远超对其出口。中国方面的数据较低，约为2920亿美元，但预计逆差今年将进一步扩大。
It hit about 360 billion (US$404 billion) in 2025, meaning the EU imported far more from the Asian nation than it exported there. China has a lower figure of around US$292 billion but expects the deficit to rise further this year.
欧盟贸易执法主任德尼·雷东内表示，面临“持续且异常”进口增长的行业包括机械、纺织、基础金属和化工。
The EU's trade enforcement chief, Denis Redonnet, said sectors facing "sustained and abnormal" import increases included machinery, textiles, basic metals and chemicals.
雷东内上周在欧洲议会表示，目前欧盟近四分之一的进口存在“潜在令人担忧的趋势”，主要由中国商品驱动。
There were "potentially worrying trends for almost a quarter of all imports into the EU at the moment", driven mainly by Chinese goods, Redonnet told the European Parliament last week.
塞夫科维奇表示，欧盟希望实现三大主要目标，包括应对中国向欧盟市场的出口激增（特别是在关键领域），以及增加欧洲对华出口。
Sefcovic said the EU wanted to deliver on three main objectives including tackling export surges from China to the bloc's market, especially in critical sectors, and increasing exports from Europe to China.
布鲁塞尔还希望建立“稀土及其他产品的出口许可制度”，此前主要生产国中国去年对其实施了限制。
Brussels also wanted "a system of export licensing for rare earths and other products" after major producer China introduced restrictions on them last year.
欧洲希望通过自愿限制来管理中国出口，例如限制输往欧盟的混合动力汽车，但一名欧盟官员表示，布鲁塞尔希望纳入其他产品。北京表示坚决反对进口配额。
Europe hopes to manage Chinese exports through voluntary limits, for example on hybrid cars shipped to the bloc, but an EU official said Brussels wants to include other products. Beijing has said it firmly opposes import quotas.
由于国内需求疲软，中国的回旋余地有限，这意味着政府依赖出口来维持增长水平。
China has limited room for manoeuvre because of weak domestic demand, which means the government relies on exports to sustain growth levels.
多元化供应商 由于欧盟集团不指望中国会有重大改变，这名不愿透露姓名的欧盟官员表示，欧盟也在全力准备新工具。
DIVERSIFYING SUPPLIERS Since the bloc does not expect significant changes by China, the EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was also steaming ahead with preparing new tools.
包括法国在内的多个欧盟国家一直在推动建立“欧洲版301条款”——这是美国总统特朗普用来调查华盛顿认定为歧视性的外国做法，并以关税进行报复的贸易工具。
Several EU nations including France have pushed for a "European equivalent of Section 301" - the trade tool US President Donald Trump used to probe foreign practices Washington deems discriminatory, and retaliate with tariffs.
针对上周关于此类工具的报道，北京警告将对“歧视性限制措施”“坚决回应”。
Responding to reports last week about such a tool, Beijing warned it would "respond resolutely" to "discriminatory restrictive measures".
欧盟清楚这些并非空谈：中国此前曾以对欧盟白兰地征收关税、对猪肉和乳制品发起反倾销调查，作为对欧盟贸易防御措施的报复。
The EU knows they are not empty threats: China previously retaliated against the bloc's trade defence moves with duties on European cognac, and conducted anti-dumping probes into pork and dairy products.
布鲁塞尔还在开发一种工具，旨在通过提供资金支持企业，使其在关键领域实现供应商多元化。
Brussels is also developing a tool that would support businesses, through funding, to diversify their suppliers in critical sectors.
然而，欧盟整体愿在对华问题上走多远，目前仍不得而知——因为担心激怒北京。
It is still unclear, however, how far the EU as a whole would be willing to go against China - for fear of provoking Beijing.
德国因中国是其最大贸易伙伴而处于特别脆弱的地位，因此表现得格外谨慎——尽管柏林的立场已趋于强硬，因为担心中国产能过剩正损害其出口导向型经济。
Germany, which is especially exposed since its biggest trading partner is China, has been especially cautious - though Berlin's stance has hardened as it worries Chinese overcapacities are hurting its export-led economy.
德国马歇尔基金会的纳斯表示：“欧洲有能力采取更激进的措施来遏制这场‘中国冲击2.0’。问题在于，他们是否会这么做？”
Europe has "the ability to do something more aggressive to stem this China 2.0 shock", GMF's Naas said. "The question is, will they?"