China’s ‘unfairness’ warrants a more assertive EU approach, warns trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis

European Union commissioner for trade reiterates importance of ‘level playing field’ with China, as the bloc looks to shore up its economic-security strategy

On third day of China trip, Dombrovskis reiterates that the EU is not ‘decoupling’ from China, but flags its ‘lack of reciprocity’

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European Union trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis is in China. Photo: SCMP

Published: 1:36pm, 25 Sep 2023

European Union trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis warned that Europe will become more assertive as it tackles “unfairness” in its economic relations with China, as he stopped to speak at a university during his China trip.

“We recognise that the world needs China, but China also needs to see that the lack of reciprocity and a level playing field from China, coupled with wider geopolitical shifts, has forced Europe to become more assertive,” Dombrovskis said in a speech at Tsinghua University on Monday morning in Beijing.

“The EU welcomes competition,” he said. “But the competition must be fair, and we will be more assertive in tackling unfairness.

“The EU needs a strong China to help the world succeed in green and digital transitions. But the EU cannot allow itself to be unprotected when our openness is abused and when our national security is at risk.”

That has been the key message of Dombrovskis since arriving in China on Saturday and setting off on a four-day tour of Shanghai, Suzhou and Beijing, where he was due to attend the 10th China-European Union High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue with Chinese officials on Monday.

In his 20-minute speech delivered to a room of about 80 people, mainly students, Dombrovskis added that the EU would “remain narrow and focused in scope” on national security, and not confuse it with “broader economic resilience or level-playing-field issues”.

“[T]hat’s how we are going to approach this in our economic-security strategy,” he said, reiterating an earlier message that the EU’s “de-risking” approach is not the same as “decoupling”.