BEIJING: China’s overseas ministry on Thursday (Might 28) accused the European Union of utilizing commerce information selectively to justify claims of imbalances, after the bloc mentioned it was trying to broaden import quotas and tariffs on Chinese language items to guard susceptible industries.
Beijing was responding after European Union business chief Stephane Sejourne instructed the Monetary Occasions that Brussels would have a look at toughening measures to defend sure industrial sectors from what the bloc sees as an “existential” risk from Chinese language imports.
“We’ll use safeguard clauses in a extra basic method on sectors and never simply on companies or explicit uncooked supplies,” Sejourne instructed the FT, including that European industries akin to chemical substances, metals and clear know-how have been liable to being destroyed by unfair Chinese language competitors.
Chinese language overseas ministry spokesperson Mao Ning mentioned that nobody is pressured to commerce with China and that Beijing would take all crucial measures to safeguard its legit rights and pursuits.
“If one seems solely at commerce in items, with out contemplating commerce in providers and funding revenue, focus solely on headline commerce figures, not the construction of commerce and the place earnings move … it’ll naturally result in a one-sided conclusion of commerce imbalance,” Mao instructed an everyday press convention.
“Whether or not it’s de-risking, decreasing dependence, or so-called commerce steadiness, these are in essence protectionism,” Mao added.
Sejourne will make his case throughout talks on Friday between EU commissioners on the way to rebalance EU-China relations.
The commissioner’s spokesperson confirmed that Sejourne is pushing for the bloc to deploy import quotas and tariffs “extra systematically” to defend European industries from Chinese language competitors. A number of the EU’s greatest economies together with France, Italy and Spain are pushing Brussels to revamp commerce measures to defend the bloc extra successfully in opposition to excessively low cost imports.
The EU’s items commerce deficit with China elevated by 2.7 per cent in 2025 to €359.9 billion (US$417.88 billion).
“Worldwide commerce is a two-way selection,” Mao mentioned. “There isn’t a such factor as pressured shopping for or promoting … China doesn’t intentionally pursue a commerce surplus with Europe,” he added, whereas urging the EU to take a “complete and goal” view of its financial ties with Beijing.
Europe frets that the survival of commercial sectors akin to chemical substances, metals and clear applied sciences is threatened by unfair Chinese language competitors. It has lengthy accused China of utilizing state-backed subsidies, market entry obstacles and insurance policies it says distort competitors.
China rejects the notion that its commerce practices are unjust.
Sejourne’s proposal was first reported by the Monetary Occasions, Handelsblatt and Le Monde.
