EU Considers Action on Trade Imbalance with China

Kathmandu. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stated that the European group is considering taking necessary steps to address the trade imbalance with China and that the EU's upcoming trade talks with China must yield results. She said the European group is considering taking necessary steps to address the trade imbalance with China. This comment comes after talks between senior European and Chinese trade officials this week. Similarly, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic has said he wants 'concrete results' from discussions with Beijing by October. On Friday, von der Leyen said during a visit to Cork city on the occasion of Ireland's assumption of the bloc's six-month presidency that the EU must continue dialogue with China. "Dialogue must also yield results," von der Leyen added, referring to the dialogue with China. She said the EU must be 'extremely clear' in the talks, citing issues ranging from subsidized overcapacity goods entering the European market to the lack of market access for EU companies in the Chinese market. Mentioning 'unfair competition due to subsidies', she said, "We do not want to see this in our market anymore." From 2005 to 2024, Chinese companies received three to eight times more government support compared to companies in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Von der Leyen warned that the EU is ready to take tough action if no change is seen. "We are fundamentally ready for everything, we have all the tools, and we are considering other options if necessary," she said. Last month, EU leaders instructed the Commission, which leads trade policy, to continue negotiations and prepare new measures to protect the bloc's industries. The EU's goods trade deficit with China, a group of 27 European countries, reached approximately 360 billion euros in 2025, meaning the EU imported significantly more from China than it exported.