The European Union's top trade official is heading to Beijing on Friday to talk about China dumping solar panels on the continent, and avoiding a trade war.

The European Commission imposed punitive tariffs on China's imports back on 6 June.  This was despite a majority of EU members opposing tariffs, which was partly out of fear of retaliation. China launched its own investigation into EU wine, which targets France and Italy, two states that called for the tariffs.

“It is expected that EU Trade Commissioner De Gucht and Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao (Hucheng) will discuss this issue in the margins of the (meeting)," said a statement attributed to EU trade spokesman John Clancy.  That means the issue of China’s Solar Panels is not officially on the docket for De Gucht’s visit; but these talks are expected to continue mid-level negotiations already under way in Brussels.  De Gucht is hoping Beijing will agree to a minimum price at which Chinese companies can sell in Europe.