America News Agency

Beijing has also said it is considering imposing tariffs on gasoline-powered vehicles imported from Europe.

China said importers of EU brandy would have to pay a tax of up to 39 percent from Friday, Oct. 11, a week after EU member states voted to impose duties on Chinese electric vehicles.

Less than two months ago, Beijing said it would not impose temporary tariffs on brandy despite saying it had found evidence of dumping.

Shares in European car and brandy makers fell after China’s announcement, with BMW falling 3 percent before recovering, French distiller Rémy Cointreau falling more than 9 percent and Hennessy Cognac owner LVMH falling 6.8 percent. Pernod Ricard fell 4.6%.

The announcement comes just months after Emmanuel Macron tried to woo the Chinese president during an official visit to France.

Xi presented Jinping with a special bottle of Louis XIII Cognac in a nod to Beijing’s opening of an anti-dumping investigation into brandy. He praised his colleague for his “open stance” against the investigation.

But European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen reiterated the broader EU commitment to allowing China to continue selling to the EU but not using state subsidies and other support to undermine local production.

The permanent EU tariffs are not expected to come into effect until November and both sides are continuing talks.

But EU insiders fear Xi is reluctant to back down, citing Chinese economic growth in exports of green technology, including cars, solar panels, heat pumps, and wind turbines.

The latest discussion also comes against the backdrop of a possible Donald Trump presidency in the US.

China on Tuesday called on the United States to lift sanctions on its companies "as soon as possible," some of which began during Trump's presidency in 2018.