EU, China trade tensions loom over minister’s visit

BRUSSELS: Europe and China will gauge whether trade frictions can be resolved through talks on Monday when top EU trade official Maros Sefcovic hosts his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Brussels for a day-long discussion.

The EU has turned its attention to China as Brussels frets over increasing trade imbalances between the 27-nation bloc and the Asian powerhouse.

The issue is existential for the EU.

Brussels fears it will lose certain industries entirely if it does not act against a glut of cheap goods made in China, threatening manufacturers in Europe.

Wang’s visit comes less than two weeks after EU leaders tasked the European Commission with tackling the issue through talks with Beijing – while simultaneously preparing beefed-up defence measures to protect key sectors.

Sefcovic will tell Wang the current imbalances are unsustainable for the EU before hosting the Chinese minister for a special dinner on Monday evening.

The EU’s trade deficit in goods hit around €360 billion (US$410 billion) in 2025, meaning the bloc imported way more from China than it exported there.

In turn, Wang will likely seek to understand how serious the EU is in threatening to deploy its trade defence armoury against Beijing.

However, the EU still hopes to avoid a trade war with its second-largest trading partner for goods alone, according to the European Commission – with China making clear it will retaliate against actions it views as unfair.

Following Trump’s playbook?

Europe insists on the need for a level-playing field, pointing out that Chinese firms have an unfair advantage because of massive state subsidies.

The numbers support Brussels’ argument. Between 2005 and 2024, Chinese companies received around three to eight times more government support than businesses in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), according to the OECD, which called it “a conservative estimate”.

The EU has an arsenal of trade defence tools it can use to address the issue.

These include imposing higher tariffs if investigations prove companies are selling goods at unfairly low prices or if there is state support that gives an unjust advantage to the manufacturers.

Brussels could also slap restrictions known as safeguard measures – including quotas – if there is a sudden surge in imports.

New measures are likely also on the way.

The European Commission, which leads EU trade policy, is working on an instrument that would force businesses to diversify their suppliers in critical sectors like chips and rare earths.

French President Emmanuel Macron in May proposed a European “Section 301” – the trade tool US President Donald Trump has employed to set higher tariffs for certain sectors after investigations.

‘Not enemies’

The EU has taken several measures to confront soaring imports from China including doubling its duties on foreign steel, slapping higher levies on small parcels from abroad and hefty tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

Despite growing acceptance of the need to get tougher however, Brussels has shown zero appetite for a painful trade war with Beijing.

Beijing warns it is ready to respond to any measures it believes target China.

They are not empty threats for the EU since China previously slapped duties on European cognac and conducted anti-dumping probes into pork and dairy products.

The warning weighs on EU capitals.

Germany has until recently been more cautious since it is more exposed to China’s economy but the biggest supporter of a more pragmatic approach has been Spain as it seeks Beijing’s investment.

Although he echoed China’s retaliation warning last week, Beijing’s envoy to the EU Cai Run also urged dialogue as he told a Brussels audience that the bloc and Beijing were “partners, not rivals, and certainly not enemies”.

The relationship is significant for China too: the EU is its second-largest trading partner.

After dinner with Sefcovic, Wang will head to London.