There were external reports suggesting that China's exports of hybrid vehicles to Europe would "decrease by more than half" over the next four years, triggering industry concerns. "Yuyuan Tantian", a new media platform under CCTV, revealed that the so-called "halving" is merely a unilateral narrative from the European side, based on a linear projection of future export volumes using past high growth rates, and is not an actual basis for bilateral negotiations. The two sides ultimately reached an upward arrangement on the 2025 import base and fixed annual increases, ensuring that quotas would not be lower than those from any other source, effectively safeguarding Chinese automakers' export rights.
It was disclosed that the actual benchmark for the negotiations was 302,000 hybrid vehicles that the EU would import from China in 2025. The European side used past periods of high growth data to linearly project future export volumes over the next four years, then compared it with the negotiation results to reach the "halving" conclusion. However, such periodic market fluctuations are unsuitable for linear projections, and the forecast data itself carries high uncertainty.
On trade rules, the European side could originally set quotas through "global safeguard measures", which by convention would not be lower than the "average import volume over the past three years", but this would compress space for Chinese automakers. After more than 30 rounds of consultations, China successfully stepped outside the European framework, achieving an upward arrangement based on the 2025 baseline of 302,000 units, with fixed annual increases thereafter, and clearly stipulating that China's quota would not be lower than that from any other EU import source, preventing discriminatory treatment against Chinese products.
The report emphasized that reaching an agreement does not mean there are no backup measures. China has preserved all rights to resort to WTO dispute settlement mechanisms and demand trade compensation. If the European side fails to implement the outcome or introduces new measures during implementation, China's reserved countermeasures will take effect immediately.
Currently, the Hang Seng Index stands at 24,241, down 29 points or 0.1%, with main board turnover exceeding HK$148.1 billion. The HSCEI is at 8,144, down 24 points or 0.3%. The Hang Seng Tech Index is at 4,116, down 53 points or 1.3%.
| Stock (Code) | Current Price (HK$) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| BYD (01211) | 72.75 | Down 2.15% |
| Li Auto (02015) | 44.94 | Up less than 0.1% |
| NIO (09866) | 26.62 | Down 1.92% |
| XPeng (09868) | 37.56 | Down 2.39% |
| Geely Auto (00175) | 15.34 | Up 1.52% |
| Leapmotor (09863) | 35.78 | Down 1.43% |
| Great Wall Motor (02333) | 7.035 | Down 1.81% |
| GAC Group (02238) | 2.185 | Down 0.68% |
| BAIC (01958) | 0.7 | Up 0.72% |
