China, EU Trade Officials Meet in Brussels on Second Trade and Investment Consultation

The China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism is still in its agenda-setting phase, which suggests the second regular meeting has yet to be formally convened. The counterparties — a Chinese vice-ministerial trade official and the Commission's trade and economic security director-general — indicate this is a working-level channel rather than a leadership summit, so any near-term deliverables are likely to be procedural rather than substantive. Whether the mechanism produces concrete outcomes beyond continued dialogue is the open question.