Maros Sefcovic, European commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, gives a press conference on the EU-Korea Digital Trade Agreement in Brussels, Belgium, March 10. EPA-Yonhap

For a vivid illustration of the diplomatic tightrope the European Union is walking lately, look no further than trade chief Maros Sefcovic's travel itinerary this week.

After a last minute jaunt to Washington for talks on Tuesday aimed at averting new U.S. tariffs on European goods next week, the Slovakian barely had time to change his shirt before jetting off to Beijing on Wednesday afternoon.

In the United States, Sefcovic repeated Brussels' offers to reduce tariffs on U.S. imports and buy more American goods, as it looks to avoid the worst of Trump's punitive trade agenda.

These efforts to salvage some modicum of cooperation with Washington failed, with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing automotive tariffs, including on Europe, on Wednesday, while Sefcovic's team warned EU ambassadors to expect hefty duties next week.

On his first official trip to Beijing, however, Sefcovic's mission is different — but many in Brussels believe it will be equally tricky to accomplish.

Amid Trump's aggressive stance towards Europe, Chinese officials and diplomats have been moving through the region on a charm offensive, telling their counterparts that the time is right for a detente. They now share a common adversary, the messaging goes, as Trump has shown little inclination to respect Europe's security architecture or put his tariff cudgel back into his diplomatic toolbox.

Sefcovic's goal will be to see how serious Beijing is about repairing its relations to Europe, and he is willing to play hardball to find out.

In a painstakingly orchestrated agenda, the Slovakian official will meet with Chinese Minister for Customs Sun Meijun on Thursday followed by dinner with Vice-Premier He Lifeng. On Friday, he will meet Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, his direct counterpart.

In each meeting, he will lay out precise demands that would help mend the fraying bilateral ties, if China is willing to make concessions, according to people familiar with the plan.

"He will address the EU's systemic concerns over the negative impact of China's non-market policies and practices, and raise market access barrier issues affecting EU exports and investment in China," read a statement from the European Commission

"In particular, one of the aims of the trip will be exploring ways to align Chinese investments in the EU with EU priorities and policy objectives."

EU sources say two of those demands are "low-hanging fruit" related to market access issues for European firms in China, which Beijing should be able to grant while Sefcovic is still in China.

Others — such as further market access issues and uneven treatment for EU firms in China — have longer timelines, but are seen as easily deliverable if Chinese ministers are committed to patching up the relationship.

Sefcovic, who has rarely dealt with China in a long career in the European Commission and as a Slovak diplomat, was said to be optimistic about his trip, even if more seasoned officials on the China beat were gloomier.

"We've always been very specific with what we want and had lists that they have simply never responded to," said one senior EU official, who described his Chinese counterparts as "increasingly intransigent."

In planning meetings, the trade chief has wondered whether, with such a long list of demands, Brussels needs to offer Beijing anything in return. Officials experienced on China have insisted that no such concessions should be made.

For years, officials in Brussels have felt their concerns about China's economic policies have been ignored by Beijing, and are in no mood to compromise.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attends a joint press conference following the 10th China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Sep. 25, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap

China, meanwhile, has asked to resolve a dispute with the EU over electric vehicles that saw import tariffs slapped on Chinese-made models last year, threatening a broader trade war.

Officials in Beijing have also requested that Brussels notify them in advance when it plans to use foreign subsidies regulation (FSR) against Chinese firms. FSR, a far-reaching competition tool, allows European investigators to raid premises of foreign firms suspected to have received market-distorting state subsidies. It has been used mostly against Chinese companies.

"I am neither optimistic, nor pessimistic ... I am determined," said a second senior official, summing up the prevailing stance towards China in the upper ranks of the commission.

This resolve was on display last week when the commission requested a diplomatic demarche with Chinese ministries over tariffs slapped on French brandy, widely seen as retaliation for the EV duties.

The EU wanted to complain that the duties were "illegal" and to question why affected spirits have also been removed from duty-free shops at Chinese airports. Beijing refused the request but relented after being told that Sefcovic's trip would be in doubt otherwise.

The brandy issue will be raised in the meeting with customs chief Sun, although at last week's demarche Beijing was "really completely uncompromising," according to a source briefed on the talks.

With U.S. tariffs raising the stakes in Sefcovic's shuttle diplomacy, the commissioner has been in message control mode, at the behest of his president Ursula von der Leyen. A press conference planned for Saturday morning in Beijing has been cancelled, while there was no customary briefing for journalists before he left.

In tandem with Sefcovic's visit, several EU member states have dispatched ministers to Beijing, with some in Brussels fearing that his tough message could be undermined by capitals looking to cash in on ties with China.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is travelling in early April, is seen in the commission to be the "weak link", given his well-established views that the EU and China should rebuild their ties due to Trump.

"Sanchez sees Spain as a country that can bridge the gap with China," said Miguel Otero, an analyst of EU-China relations at the Royal Elcano Institute in Madrid.

"He has been saying: let's do de-risking, but let's not overdo it. Let's be pragmatic, not ideological."

Read the full story at SCMP.