2024-05-06 03:59:00
Ursula von der Leyen fully intends to relaunch a game of economic tug-of-war with Xi Jinping this Monday in Paris. The President of the European Commission has in fact announced that she will demand “fair” competition with Beijing during her interview with the Chinese president.
“We must act to ensure that competition is fair and not distorted,” she said in a statement released hours before a three-way meeting with Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron.
EU denounces “subsidized Chinese products”
“China currently manufactures, with massive subsidies, more than it sells due to its weak domestic demand. This leads to an oversupply of subsidized Chinese products, such as electric vehicles and steel, which leads to unfair trade,” she accuses. “Europe cannot accept such market-distorting practices which could lead to deindustrialization in Europe.”
In previous discussions with the Chinese president, “I have made it clear that the current imbalances in market access are not sustainable and must be corrected,” she insists.
Critics that go down badly in Beijing
Trade disputes between Brussels and Beijing are numerous. Threatened with being caught between the American and Chinese economies, massively aided by public authorities, the European Union has in recent months increased investigations into Chinese state subsidies to several industrial sectors, in particular to electric vehicles, accused of distorting competition.
In Beijing, these measures deemed “protectionist” go poorly. The Chinese authorities have launched their own anti-subsidy investigation mainly targeting French cognac, against which the French president intends to speak out.
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