China has imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France. The tariffs announced Friday will range from 27.7% to 34.9% and take effect on Saturday.

Major Cognac companies made concessions to avoid the worst of the penalties, imposed by Beijing in retaliation for E.U. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

China spared major cognac producers Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau from hefty duties on EU brandy on Friday, a rare bright spot at a time of trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing as the two sides row over tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

During a high-level meeting with European Union (EU) officials, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas that China cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat that Beijing can’t accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China,

Russia cannot afford to lose the war in Ukraine, China has warned. Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, said Beijing does not want to see a Russian loss because of fears the United States would then shift its focus on to China.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has lifted restrictions on exports of chip design software to China, as Washington and Beijing work to dial down hostilities as part of a recent trade agreement.

The United States has lifted restrictions on exports to China for chip design software developers and ethane producers, a further sign of de-escalating U.S.-Sino trade tensions including concessions from Beijing over rare earths.

President Donald Trump’s administration has lifted recent export license requirements for chip design software sales in China, as Washington and Beijing implement a trade deal for both countries to ease some restrictions on critical technologies.