The EU team was spearheaded by Denis Redonnet, the bloc’s top trade enforcement officer, who was recently made point person on China trade policy – a recognition that in EU circles, talk of partnership has largely been usurped by rivalry and competition.

Later this month, the European Union’s top trade official, Ditte Juul Jorgensen, will follow Redonnet to the Chinese capital, she confirmed on Wednesday, as Brussels assesses whether Beijing is willing to make the sort of concessions that could see them avoid sliding into a damaging tit-for-tat exchange in the autumn.

“We see an engaged China in these talks, but of course the challenges are very, very significant,” Jorgensen told a hearing at the European Parliament on Wednesday.

The commission wants Beijing to commit to reducing its surging exports to the bloc, which have expanded at breakneck speed in recent months. In July alone, China extended its trade surplus over all but three EU members compared with a year earlier.

“What we see in relation to China is … increasing concentration dependencies, including in strategic sectors – that is a risk to the EU,” Jorgensen said.