China, EU achieve progress in EV price commitment talks: commerce ministry

BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union (EU) have made progress in negotiations on a proposed price commitment plan concerning Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Chinese and EU technical teams held five rounds of talks in Beijing from Nov. 2 to 7, engaging in in-depth discussions on the specifics of the price commitment plan submitted by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed in an online statement in response to media queries.

The Chinese side believes the overall advancement of the negotiations based on the chamber's plan, which is on behalf of the industry, will help maintain mutual trust, facilitate consensus-building and resolve differences through consultations, to avoid an escalation of the trade frictions, the spokesperson said.

The two sides have agreed to continue negotiations via video or other means, the spokesperson added.