Key Points
- The EU’s top official accused China of unfair trade practices, including market distortion and blocking access for European firms.
- She claimed China floods markets with cheap, subsidized goods to wipe out competitors in key industries.
- The EU has responded by placing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
- China has retaliated with its measures, including export controls on critical rare-earth magnets.
Tensions between Europe and China are heating up. The European Union’s top official, Ursula von der Leyen, has publicly accused China of rigging its trade system. She said that for their partnership to work, China needs to stop distorting markets and give European companies fair access. Her strong words come just two weeks before a major summit between the two economic powers.
Von der Leyen argued that China’s strategy has been to flood global markets with cheap, subsidized goods to crush its competitors. She pointed to industries like solar panels, where Western companies were wiped out, leaving China to dominate. This is why the EU recently imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, claiming they benefit from unfair government support.
The conflict goes both ways. Beijing recently retaliated by imposing export controls on rare earth magnets, which are crucial for many European industries.
The EU also blocked Chinese firms from bidding on public contracts for medical devices, which led to a swift retaliation from China. These back-and-forth moves have soured relations, which had seemed to be improving earlier this year.
All this tension is building just before the planned summit. In a sign of the strain, the Chinese government has already cancelled part of the two-day meeting. Von der Leyen didn’t hold back, stating that the system is “explicitly rigged,” giving Chinese goods and services an automatic 20% price advantage in public contracts.
