Thread by @fbermingham

As we reported last night the EU has now filed its WTO case vs China.

Details in this thread, but here's the letter the EU sent to China's WTO ambassador to request the consultation

https://twitter.com/fbermingham/status/1486474399167520774

At a press conference this morning, EU trade commissioner Dombrovskis says that the WTO case will be dropped if China responds positively to requests to drop the coercion

He is hopeful that the anti-coercion instrument's legislative process can be concluded this year under the French and Czech presidencies of the EU

On the CAI: no direct link with WTO case, still frozen. But it raises questions "about the overall state of relations and the overall political environment" between the EU and China

"Certainly there can be a diplomatic solution, and we are facilitating and trying to resolve this dispute amicably," Dombrovskis says

Meanwhile in Beijing, Zhao Lijian:

"We also remind the EU to distinguish right from wrong, be wary of Lithuania's attempt to kidnap China-EU relations & persuade Lithuania like other EU members to fulfill the political commitments it made when establishing diplomatic relations"

"The issue between is a political issue, not an economic one. The issue is a problem caused by the treachery against China, harming China's interests, not China's pressure on Lithuania. The issue is a bilateral issue, not an issue between China and the EU," Zhao Lijian

Dombrovskis dismissed this last point: it is not a bilateral issue, because the EU manages the trade policy for its 27 member states.

Direct quote from Dombrovskis showing EU clearly prefers a diplomatic solution:

"If we find a solution and of course practices are being discontinued, of course we do not have a reason to pursue the case further."