This month, the European Union and China reached an agreement to cap Chinese hybrid vehicle imports into the EU at 350,000 annually.

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Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent on October 18, 2026, highlighting an $18 billion 2025 trade turnover and $60 billion in agreed projects.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is seeking to balance support for Russia with economic ties to Europe, where a trilateral summit could spark backlash.

China's exports surged 36% year-on-year in September 2026, buoyed by global demand for artificial intelligence components and high-tech electronics.

Elevated U.S. tariffs pushed Chinese exporters to direct more goods toward Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Europe in 2026.

The European Union runs a trade deficit with China of more than $1.1 billion a day, with Chinese exports to the EU rising 16% over the first nine months of 2026.

China recorded a $938 billion trade surplus between January and September 2026, putting it on track to beat last year's record $1.2 trillion surplus.

China logged a monthly record trade surplus of $133.5 billion in September 2026.

China exported over 7.1 million passenger cars in the first nine months of 2026, up more than 70% from the previous year, including 919,000 shipped in September 2026.

Under the draft Franco-German deal, the UK must align with EU trade protection measures, including tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, to qualify for Made in Europe status.

France and Germany reached a provisional deal on October 15, 2026, to soften EU car emissions targets and allow the UK to join the Made in Europe scheme.

The Franco-German agreement restricts the Made in Europe status for cars to the 27 EU member states, while allowing opt-in conditions for Britain and Norway.

European carmakers requested Britain's inclusion in Made in Europe public procurement rules because of deeply integrated cross-border supply chains.

China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology on October 16, 2026 jointly proposed export bans on 14 technologies and restrictions on 26 technologies across AI, solar power, and biotechnology.

China's government plans to provide streamlined procedures, including automatic licensing, for export transactions involving open-source artificial intelligence technologies.

The draft catalog targets 5 biomedical technologies, proposing export bans or restrictions on cell and gene therapy platforms and small nucleic acid drugs.

China's October 16, 2026 proposal includes 12 solar technologies, proposing export bans on perovskite and tandem solar module manufacturing and restrictions on high-capacity polysilicon engineering lines.

In retaliation for Western technology restrictions, China enforces export controls on critical minerals.

China implemented a temporary pre-export registration requirement on October 16, 2026 covering ongoing technology transfers, intellectual property licensing, and changes placing Chinese tech owners under foreign control.

In 2020, Beijing added algorithms to its export control catalog after the first Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok unless the application sold its U.S. assets.

The UK imposes a 10% import duty on Chinese electric vehicles, whereas the European Union has imposed tariffs up to 45% since 2024.