EU leader Ursula von der Leyen urges states to begin economic de-risking from China or face trouble
- A failure to do so means they should prepare for their businesses to be steamrollered by unfair Chinese competition, she tells bloc’s 27 member states
- ‘Geopolitics and geoeconomics need to be considered even more closely together and dealt with on a European level’
In an address to conservative lawmakers at the German Bundestag – the national parliament – she tried to drum up support for her de-risking agenda, suggesting that European businesses in China will eventually run into trouble if governments do not take action.
“Entire industries and value chains for which China used to rely on the rest of the world are being increasingly relocated domestically. Many European investors like to call this ‘in China for China’. However, this only works until European companies are squeezed out by Chinese competition or get caught up in political turmoil,” von der Leyen said.
Amid a lukewarm response among member states to her economic security strategy, she said “geopolitics and geoeconomics need to be considered even more closely together and dealt with on a European level”.