EU chief demands China address trade imbalance as tensions flare
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Beijing has imposed export controls on rare earth magnets, hitting EU industries hard and compounding an increasingly unbalanced trading relationship.
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investment
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July 8, 2025
11:52 AM
Fortune
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·Tariffs and tradeEU chief demands China address trade imbalance as tensions flareBY Michal KubalaBY Max RamsayBY BloombergBY Michal KubalaBY Max RamsaySEE MORE Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, speaks in the European Parliament building on July 8, 2025 Philipp von Ditfurth—picture alliance via Getty ImagesEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused China of distorting trade and limiting access for European firms two weeks ahead of a summit between the economic powers. “If our partnership is to move forward, we need a genuine rebalancing: fewer market distortions, less overcapacity exported from China, and fair, recical access for European es in China,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday
Beijing has imposed export controls on rare earth magnets, hitting European Union industries hard and compounding an increasingly unbalanced trading relationship
The move has dashed signs of a thaw earlier this year between the EU and China because of US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies
China’s Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for
The 27-member bloc imposed tariffs on electric vehicles over allegations Chinese ducers benefit from unfair subsidies
The EU also excluded the country’s firms from public contracts for medical devices earlier in 2025, sparking a tit for tat retaliation from Beijing. “China invested early in many of the nologies of the future,” von der Leyen said. “But then it started flooding global with cheap, subsidized goods, to wipe out competitors. ” “Entire Western industries closed — from solar panels to mineral cessing — leaving China to dominate,” the commission president said
Combined with a lack of gress over longstanding trade and economic issues, tensions have ramped up ahead of a summit between Brussels and Beijing planned for the second half of July
The Chinese government cancelled part of what was meant to be a two-day summit. “Goods and services that are ‘made in China’ get an automatic 20% price advantage in public bids,” von der Leyen said. “This is simply not fair
The system is explicitly rigged.
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