Bloomberg: von der Leyen Reiterates China-EU Trade Rebalancing, Sino-European Competition Continues to Escalate

Bloomberg reported on July 8 that European Commission President von der Leyen warned at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg: "If our partnership is to move forward, we need real rebalancing: reduce market distortions, reduce excess capacity from Chinese exports, and provide European companies with fair, reciprocal access to China." This statement comes at a critical moment as Sino-European trade tensions continue to escalate.

Just two weeks earlier at the G7 summit, von der Leyen had taken out a magnet as a prop to warn US President Trump about the "China weaponizing rare earths" theory, accusing China of imposing export restrictions on key materials such as rare earths. Data shows that China holds an 85% market share in global production of rare earth magnets, making this strategic resource a core focus of trade disputes.

Trade confrontation is escalating at an unprecedented pace: On June 30, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced additional anti-dumping duties of up to 43% on EU stainless steel billets and other products; just four days later, it precisely targeted French brandy with anti-dumping duties ranging from 27.7% to 4.9%—in 2023, China imported 41.66 million liters of brandy from France, accounting for 96.3% of total imports, with a market value of 12.56 billion yuan.

The EU announced on June 20, under the "International Procurement Tool," a ban on Chinese companies participating in public tenders for medical devices worth over 5 million euros; in response, the Chinese Ministry of Finance on July 6 stipulated that medical device procurement projects exceeding 45 million yuan should exclude EU companies, and the proportion of EU imported medical devices provided by non-EU companies must not exceed 50%.

In the electric vehicle sector, the EU imposed temporary tariffs of up to 38.1% on China, directly impacting 482,000 Chinese pure electric sedans exported to Europe in 2023 (accounting for 40% of China's new energy vehicle exports). This measure has triggered strong opposition from European automakers; the German Association of the Automotive Industry warned that tariffs are "a dead end," and Mercedes-Benz Group Chairman Ola Källenius stated bluntly, "Don't accelerate protectionism, because we will suffer heavy losses."

Despite the escalation of friction, the EU remained China's second-largest trading partner in the first five months of 2025, with bilateral trade reaching 2.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.9%. Faced with pressure from former US President Trump threatening to impose a 50% tariff on all EU goods, there was a clear division within the EU on its policy toward China: 16 countries chose to abstain, while only 10 countries supported a tough stance.

As von der Leyen and European Council President Costa plan to jointly visit China this month, this game involving an annual trade relationship of 800 billion dollars is reaching a critical turning point.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837086499492873/

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