well, trump happened, that is why every thing seem moving faster. Scholz went to Beijing probably tried to save the relationship, at least Germany business relationship with China. He certainly tried to ask Xi to give him something he can bring to EU to prevent trade war. I'm not sure if he succeeded or not. France certainly want the tariff to protect France socialist industry.

Personally, I do hope China to make some concessions though, not just with EU, but also with the rest of the world minus the unreasonable demand from the US. Building EV factories abroad is certainly a must. Merging Chinese EV companies with the EU ones are probably should on the table too. China should let Chinese companies grow into global companies, while at the same time China need to ensure workers got their shares of prosperity from good welfare system. One thing I hope China doesn't copy from the US is tax exempt for the rich.