EU to bolster trade defence tools against China – Report

The European Union will expand tools to defend its economy against imbalanced trade with China, the bloc’s industry chief told The Financial Times in a report published Thursday, drawing pushback from Beijing.

The comments come ahead of a special meeting of EU commissioners on Friday focused on how the 27-nation group should approach China to level the playing field.

China’s booming exports have resulted in large trade surpluses with many European countries, putting political pressure on the continent’s leaders to protect local industries.

Stephane Sejourne, EU industry commissioner, said the EU would step up its use of import quotas and tariffs on China to protect certain sectors including chemicals, metals and clean technology against unfair competition.

“Our objective is not to break with China but to have a real rebalancing and real measures that allow us to do it,” Sejourne told The FT.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said Thursday that China had “never deliberately sought a trade surplus with Europe” when asked about Sejourne’s comments at a news briefing.

The EU’s measures to “de-risk” are “forms of protectionism”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

“Such measures serve only to harm the interests of European consumers, drive up costs for businesses, and undermine the long-term competitiveness of industries,” Mao said.

China “will take all necessary measures” to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, she added, without elaborating.