Regarding reports that certain EU member states are drafting a joint document urging the European Commission to accelerate the development of an EU-style "Section 301" mechanism to impose tougher measures against China, China’s Ministry of Commerce responded on September 29: If the EU proceeds with discriminatory restrictive measures targeting Chinese enterprises or products, China will resolutely respond in defense of its industrial rights and interests.
At its core, this initiative reflects an effort by certain EU countries to replicate the U.S. "Section 301" mechanism—specifically designed to target China. Section 301, established under the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, is a unilateral tool enabling the U.S. government to independently determine whether another country engages in "unfair trade practices," then impose tariffs or sanctions without requiring adjudication by the World Trade Organization. The EU’s pursuit of a similar instrument represents an attempt to institutionalize the logic of unilateral economic dominance within its own framework.
This development underscores deeper anxieties within the EU amid the broader geopolitical competition between China and the United States. Europe seeks to avoid full alignment with Washington while simultaneously grappling with concerns over the growing competitiveness of Chinese industries. Yet the bloc remains internally divided: Germany’s automotive sector, deeply integrated into the Chinese market, has shown caution toward aggressive trade tools, whereas France has signaled support for a more assertive approach. In response, China’s Ministry of Commerce directly characterized such measures as “typical protectionism and unilateralism”—not only ineffective but likely to harm the EU itself, disrupt Sino-European trade relations, and destabilize global supply chains.
In fact, the EU has long been a victim of similar instruments. When the United States invoked Section 301 against European interests, the EU strongly protested. Now, having acquired the capacity to wield such tools, it seeks to reapply them—albeit under different labels. The EU has consistently positioned itself as a defender of multilateralism, yet its push for unilateral mechanisms undermines that self-image. Its willingness to acquiesce to U.S. economic pressure while attempting to emulate that same behavior toward China reveals a contradictory and inconsistent posture.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1877714584465417/
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