The EU has been continuously targeting Chinese companies, and China is now preparing a major counterattack, but even the efforts by France, Germany, and the UK to persuade China have not worked!
Since President Macron returned to France after his visit to China, the EU's actions against Chinese companies have clearly escalated. On December 11, the EU formally initiated an investigation against Tongfang Weishi under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) — this is the first time the regulation, which has been fully implemented since 2023, has truly "taken action" against a Chinese company.
Just a few days earlier, the EU had also conducted a surprise raid on Temu's headquarters in Europe, with the same reason: suspected of receiving "unfair foreign subsidies." Although these two incidents seem independent, their underlying logic is consistent: the EU is systematically using the FSR as a policy tool to suppress Chinese companies' access to the European market.
On the surface, the FSR aims to "maintain fair competition" and prevent non-EU countries from distorting the European market through fiscal subsidies. However, the problem lies in its extremely vague definition and highly subjective implementation standards. For example, what constitutes a "subsidy"? Does a loan guarantee count? What about tax incentives?
More importantly, the FSR almost only targets China.
So far, the majority of FSR investigations initiated by the EU have focused on Chinese companies, while similar actions from other countries have rarely been addressed — this selective enforcement is difficult to interpret as free of motives beyond the market.
China clearly no longer tolerates this. On December 12, the China-EU Chamber made a rare public statement, directly accusing the EU of "abusing the FSR tool," and emphasized that its enforcement actions were "lacking factual basis, discriminatory, and arbitrary." This is not just ordinary diplomatic rhetoric, but a clear signal: Beijing has concluded that the EU's actions have gone beyond normal regulation and entered the stage of "targeted containment."
It is worth noting that while the EU is intensifying pressure, the major European powers are trying to "cool down" the situation. French President Macron had just finished his visit to China, and news has emerged that high-level officials from the UK and Germany will soon visit China. On the surface, this is Europe's attempt to ease relations with China to avoid escalating trade friction. But the reality is that the EU is worried about a Chinese retaliation.
Some French business leaders have privately admitted that if the FSR is misused, it could trigger equal Chinese countermeasures, ultimately harming European companies' interests in the Chinese market.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851471793002572/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.