Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic will head to Beijing on Thursday for two days of make-or-break meetings with Chinese officials to try to stave off a trade war.

The European Union has toughened its stance towards Beijing to defend businesses against what it believes is unfair competition in critical sectors including cars.

Increasingly European leaders and observers warn of a "China Shock 2.0", used to describe Chinese firms' shift into more high-tech manufacturing, which is threatening many traditional EU industries.

The first shock in the early 2000s saw a glut of cheap, more low-tech exports from China hurt manufacturers not just in Europe but around the world.

EU and Chinese officials have been locked in talks since June to address Brussels' concerns about the current trade imbalance.

The EU is simultaneously preparing to boost its trade defence toolbox -- but Beijing has threatened to retaliate against any moves targeting China.

Sefcovic raised the stakes for this week's meetings in summer when he warned the EU expected "tangible results by October" from the process.

But experts cautioned against expecting too much from this week's meetings.

"There may be a few crumbs, but I would not expect any kind of major breakthrough," Penny Naas, director of the Brussels office of German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) think tank, said.

There could be "agreements on some specific issues, rather than any broad settlement of the trade relationship", said Zhu Tian, professor of economics at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai.

It is clear Brussels is aware the talks won't solve all of its woes, with the commission working in parallel on new tools to protect European industries, which are expected to be presented to leaders in December.

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