China must address trade gap with Europe or face more protectionism, Josep Borrell says

In opinion piece for the Post, EU’s top diplomat blames the imbalance on a lack of access to the Chinese market

He says if European voters think key sectors are being endangered, ‘they will demand more protectionist measures’

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Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, has vowed to raise trade issues with China’s foreign minister when they meet in Beijing on Friday. Photo: dpa

Published: 11:00am, 13 Oct 2023Updated: 4:30pm, 13 Oct 2023

The European Union’s top diplomat has warned China to address the gaping bilateral trade imbalance, or face more protectionist policies in Europe.

In an opinion piece for the Post, Josep Borrell said European voters will “demand more protectionist measures” if China does not help narrow its trade surplus with the EU.

“On the economic front, our relationship is currently far from satisfactory. We are a major export market for China, but this relationship has for many years been an imbalanced one, and that imbalance continues to worsen,” Borrell wrote.

Josep Borrell said European investors were “turning away” from the Chinese market. Photo: Reuters

He blamed the gap, which reached €396 billion (US$420.1 billion) last year, on the lack of market access afforded to European companies in China.

Frustration at China’s economic policy has seen Brussels open an investigation into subsidies in its electric vehicles sector, while the Post reported on Thursday that it is on the verge of a deal that will see tariffs of 25 per cent slapped on Chinese steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium, in exchange for the US dropping Trump-era tariffs on European metals.

“We have raised these difficulties repeatedly with the Chinese authorities. We have observed a recent sharp downturn in European investment in China. Without better access to the Chinese market, European investors are turning away,” Borrell wrote.

“If the European public think that trade imbalances with China are endangering key sectors of our industry, they will demand more protectionist measures. It is therefore in our common interest to address the imbalances in our trade relations.”

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China must address trade gap with Europe or face more protectionism, Josep Borrell says

In opinion piece for the Post, EU’s top diplomat blames the imbalance on a lack of access to the Chinese market He says if European voters think key sectors are being endangered, ‘they will demand more protectionist measures’

In opinion piece for the Post, EU’s top diplomat blames the imbalance on a lack of access to the Chinese market

He says if European voters think key sectors are being endangered, ‘they will demand more protectionist measures’