Europe wants economic cooperation without accepting permanent industrial dependence.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has intensified pressure on Beijing as the European Union’s trade deficit with China approaches €1 billion per day. She said Chinese imports have increased by approximately 45 percent over five years while European exports to China have declined. Every EU member state now records a goods deficit with the country, according to figures presented by the Commission president.
The bloc’s goods deficit with China reached €359.9 billion in 2025, up 2.7 percent from the previous year. Von der Leyen said the imbalance expanded by another 10 percent during the beginning of 2026. Brussels attributes the widening gap to Chinese industrial subsidies, excess manufacturing capacity, restricted market access and European dependence on Chinese critical materials and strategic technologies.
The Commission has given negotiations until October to produce meaningful progress toward a more balanced commercial relationship. This is a political deadline rather than an automatic legal trigger for tariffs or sanctions. Von der Leyen did not identify a predetermined package of retaliatory measures, but warned that the EU is prepared to use its trade-defence instruments if dialogue fails.
Possible actions include additional anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations, tighter access to public procurement, local-content requirements and restrictions on products considered to benefit from unfair state support. The Commission opened more than 30 trade-defence investigations during the previous year, almost three times its historical average. Von der Leyen said existing measures protect more than 600,000 European jobs, although that figure represents the Commission’s assessment rather than an independently established count of employment that would otherwise have disappeared.
Brussels describes its approach as reducing risk without severing economic ties. China remains a major market for European machinery, automobiles, chemicals and luxury products, while European industries depend on Chinese batteries, electronics, solar components and rare-earth processing. A rapid confrontation could therefore raise costs for manufacturers and consumers on both sides.
Beijing rejects accusations that its industrial competitiveness results from unfair overcapacity and argues that European restrictions amount to protectionism. Chinese authorities have previously threatened or imposed countermeasures against European products when the EU limited market access for Chinese companies. China could also use its control over critical-mineral supply chains as leverage in a wider dispute.
The October deadline tests whether the EU’s 27 governments can maintain a common strategy. Several member states favour stronger defensive measures, while others fear retaliation against companies heavily exposed to China. The trade deficit is therefore not only an economic statistic, but evidence of the strategic dependence Europe must confront without dismantling one of its most important commercial relationships.
Geopolítica, sin maquillaje. / Geopolitics, unmasked.