On May 27, in Beijing, Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Reiche issued a warning at a press conference, urging that any measures taken by the EU against China must not harm Europe's export business to China. Image provided by Visual China
Implementing the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), using the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) to launch in-depth investigations into Chinese companies' cross-border M&A, introducing the Critical Raw Materials Act, and planning to approve participation in the US-led "Silicon Peace" initiative...... The EU, which once championed free trade, has recently been playing the "trade protection card" against China, and its protectionist practices are no longer limited to traditional tariff barriers, but have shifted toward a composite containment path combining regulatory barriers, green barriers, and "long-arm jurisdiction."
Regarding this significant change in the EU, several European scholars interviewed by China Youth Daily and China Youth Online generally believe it reflects the EU's persistent anxiety. So, where does the EU's anxiety come from? How should China respond?
Where does the EU's anxiety come from?
For some time, EU protectionism has been on the rise, building trade barriers against China in multiple areas. From advancing the draft amendment to the Cybersecurity Law to submitting the Industrial Accelerator Act for review, the EU is pushing through multiple major economic and trade measures targeting or involving Chinese interests.
According to the American "Politico News," in May this year, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Lithuania jointly signed an informal policy document urging the EU to adopt stricter trade measures. Although the document does not directly "name" specific countries, it accuses some of the EU's major trading partners of "setting up new trade barriers or worsening systemic and structural industrial overcapacity," leading public opinion to generally view the EU's move as targeting China. At the same time, the EU plans to implement a new steel tariff policy starting July 1 this year, limiting the EU's annual duty-free steel import quota to 18.3 million tons, a significant 47% reduction compared to 2024. Tariffs on imported steel exceeding quotas will be increased from the current 25% to 50%. This move by the European side is also seen as targeting Chinese steel companies.
"The EU's series of economic and trade restrictions against China is driven by deep anxiety." Xin Hua, Director of the EU Research Center at Shanghai International Studies University and Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Society of European Studies, told China Youth Daily and Youth.cn reporters that after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Europe experienced a severe energy crisis, which in turn pushed prices higher and inflation worsened. The production costs for manufacturing enterprises and the living costs of the public rose simultaneously, dealing a fatal blow to the economy. Against this backdrop, since September 2022, many domestic European manufacturing companies have begun relocating to the US or the Asia-Pacific region, intensifying the trend of industrial hollowing out and further leading to shrinking employment and economic vitality in Europe. Although Europe's economy is expected to recover somewhat in 2025, the extent of the recovery will be weak, and the overall lack of vitality has not been reversed. "Europe feels trapped, so it is very anxious."
Xin Hua further analyzes that, on one hand, since the Trump administration launched the tariff war in April 2025, Europe has witnessed ongoing China-U.S. rivalry and fears that if Chinese goods are blocked by U.S. tariffs, they will flood into the European market in large numbers—the so-called "trade diversion theory"; On the other hand, Europe deeply feels it has clearly lagged behind China in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and electric vehicles. Coupled with the widening trade deficit with China in recent years, Europe is both anxious and eager to change the status quo, thus believing it is "necessary" to implement stricter trade protection measures against China.
Where do member states' differences originate?
"The EU consists of 27 member states, and internally, it is not 'monolithic' but faces multiple divisions." Ding Chun, Director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University and Vice President of the China European Studies Association, analyzed in an interview with China Youth Daily and China Youth.com reporters that EU member states are deeply divided over whether to strengthen economic and trade restrictions on China.
On May 30, the French weekly Le Express published an article titled "Spain Takes the Opposite Position to France in Response to China," stating that on May 22, France called on the EU to strengthen its trade defenses against China, better utilize its investigative capabilities, and proposed creating a new tool to address market distortions. Spain is among the signatories. A dramatic turn occurred a few days later: Madrid changed its stance. Carlos Quuelpo, Spain's Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, said in Berlin on May 28 that for Spanish officials, the document was only discussed at the technical level and "did not receive political support." He also called on the European side to engage in dialogue with China, saying, "We must use this dialogue to try to correct the bilateral imbalance in trade between us and China."
Germany is also actively engaging in dialogue with China. From May 26 to 29, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katerina Reisch visited China, accompanied by 40 executives from German companies such as BASF, Siemens Energy, and ThyssenKrupp. This visit comes just three months after German Chancellor Merz's visit to China. On May 27, Laixe issued a warning in Beijing, demanding that any measures taken by the EU against China must not harm Europe's export business to China. She reiterated that Germany supports enterprises from both countries in further expanding trade and two-way investment on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, and fair competition, and deepening cooperation in areas such as circular economy, digital technology, and artificial intelligence.
In response, Ding Chun analyzed using new energy vehicles as an example: France and Italy have weaker development in this field and therefore prefer to completely block Chinese products from China through trade protection measures. Germany, on the other hand, has considerable strength and its traditional fuel vehicle sales market is mainly in China, so it does not advocate relying solely on trade remedy policies to counter Chinese competition. "By 2025, China will once again become Germany's largest trading partner. Germany is also China's largest trading partner in the EU, with massive bilateral trade. Germany does not want to harm its own cooperation interests with China due to EU trade protection measures."
Ding Chun further pointed out that the EU's recent series of trade restrictions on China reflect Europe's severe anxiety and its complex mindset of "having it all at the same time." "On one hand, the US continues to pressure the EU on tariffs and other issues, and China's rise in emerging industries like new energy vehicles has made the EU feel great pressure and anxiety; On the other hand, the EU must protect European domestic industries while restricting China's related advantageous industries, while also hoping that China's advantageous industries can be utilized by Europe. Europe aims to achieve multiple goals, and thus continues to take action against China. ”
How will China respond with precision?
In response to the EU's escalating protectionism and trade bullying, China has implemented targeted countermeasures through multi-level measures.
On May 29, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce stated in a Q&A session regarding the European Commission's discussion on China-China relations that communication channels between China and Europe are smooth, and both sides are exploring the establishment of a trade and investment consultation mechanism and will conduct related dialogues. We hope the EU and China will move toward each other, and resolve differences and frictions through dialogue and negotiation. If the EU insists on unilaterally introducing new trade tools and imposing discriminatory restrictions, China will resolutely counteract and take effective measures to safeguard its interests.
It is worth noting that since the beginning of this year, multiple Chinese regulations to safeguard economic and trade cooperation have been implemented intensively: in March, the "State Council Regulations on the Security of Industrial and Supply Chains" were officially released; In April, the Anti-Improper Foreign Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Regulations were introduced, indicating that China's countermeasures against "long-arm jurisdiction" have shifted from passive responses to proactive legislation; In June, the "Regulations of the State Council on Outbound Investment" were released to the public, effectively safeguarding the safety and legitimate rights and interests of investors and their outbound investments, as well as the country's overseas interests......
In response, Ding Chun analyzed that China and Europe do not necessarily insist on their own optimal solutions on economic and trade issues, but can seek suboptimal solutions to avoid a "lose-lose" situation. Europe should realize that in the face of the tariff war provoked by the US, China can respond calmly and will not make unprincipled concessions in its dealings with Europe. Once a China-EU trade war breaks out, both sides will suffer losses. "For this reason, both China and Europe are currently willing to resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiation, but with a problem-solving attitude, they are seeking a solution that is suboptimal for both sides but can avoid a lose-lose situation."
Regarding media reports that China and the EU may begin negotiations at the end of June, Xin Hua stated that, given the EU's serious strategic anxiety about China, whether China and the EU can achieve substantive results through negotiations remains to be seen. "For China, it is possible to broaden channels and gradually ease trade imbalances by increasing imports of EU products; For the European side, dialogue can help make its trade decisions more rational and stable, thereby ensuring the smooth operation of China-EU trade relations to a certain extent. ”