【Text by Observers Network, Xiong Chaoran】Amidst the chaos in global trade, a French government official has once again urged the EU to increase trade barriers, with China as the target.

According to a report by Bloomberg on July 5th, French Finance Minister Eric Lombard stated at an economic conference held in Aix-en-Provence that, despite actions already taken in the steel and automotive sectors, it is still necessary to revise rules and strengthen trade barriers to allow for broader use of measures against Chinese imports, in response to so-called Chinese imports that may harm the European industrial economy.

"In the world we are in today, we must protect our industries," Lombard claimed: "We must do this in all industrial sectors, otherwise China's capacity policy, which gives it over 50% global market share in every sector, will stifle our industries."

The report suggests that Lombard's remarks highlight Paris's growing concerns that US President Trump's efforts to reshape global trade flows could hurt Europe in multiple ways, not just through possible tariffs on European goods exported to the US.

French Finance Minister Eric Lombard POLITICO

The day before, French Industry Minister Marc Ferracci told Bloomberg that he also called for Europe to strengthen its defenses against Chinese imports.

"Another worrying phenomenon is that Chinese capital flows originally targeting the US are now shifting towards Europe," Ferracci claimed: "China is experiencing overcapacity in many industries, which is very sensitive and dangerous for our industries."

Bloomberg mentioned that in October last year, the European Commission, despite Chinese opposition, announced the end of the "anti-subsidy investigation" for no solid reasons, and insisted on imposing a five-year "final anti-subsidy duty" on Chinese electric vehicles.

On July 4, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China stated that, in response to applications from domestic industries, the Ministry of Commerce announced on January 5, 2024, that it would launch an anti-dumping investigation into imported related brandy from the EU. The Ministry strictly conducted the investigation according to law, fully safeguarded the rights of interested parties, widely listened to opinions from all sides, and ultimately reached a conclusive determination based on facts and evidence, ruling that dumping exists with a dumping margin of 27.7%-34.9%, and issued the final ruling announcement on July 4, 2025, implementing the final anti-dumping measures starting on July 5, with an implementation period of five years.

On the same day, according to @Yuyan Tan Tian, the technical part of the Sino-EU electric vehicle negotiations has been basically completed, and only a final step remains. The key lies in whether the EU can demonstrate the corresponding political will to resolve the issue.

The South China Morning Post published an article on July 4, stating that analysts pointed out that while Sino-European cooperation is increasingly urgent amid the US Trump administration's disruption of the global trade system, the key factor determining the direction of bilateral relations is still Europe's potential anxiety about China's threat to its manufacturing advantages. Europe has always regarded manufacturing as the "crown jewel".

The report mentioned that this week, a key indicator measuring the health of German manufacturing - the German manufacturing purchasing managers' index - surged to a 34-month high, bringing hope for the long-awaited recovery of the German manufacturing industry. However, the index remained at 49.0 in June (below 50 indicates industry contraction), highlighting the formidable challenges Germany faces in revitalizing its manufacturing.

Sasha Kourtia, a researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute in France, said: "Europe hopes to rebuild its manufacturing, and therefore cannot afford the impact of a large influx of cheap Chinese imports."

Philippe Le Corre, Director of the Asia Program at ESSEC Business School, stated that the EU has adopted a more pragmatic approach to trade with China, focusing more on building and protecting local industries, especially in areas where they are catching up, such as electric vehicles. He said: "If China continues its current export trend, Europe will automatically establish a barrier system to ensure fair competition."

"I know that from the Chinese perspective, things will be complicated, because China may see Europe imitating the US in setting up market barriers," Le Corre insisted, stating that the "nature of the two is different." He said that Europe may continue to require Chinese companies to cooperate with European companies in production within Europe to protect European manufacturing, but unlike the US, Europe will follow WTO rules.

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, invited by the EU, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the EU headquarters from June 30 to July 6, held the 13th round of Sino-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue, visited Germany and held the 8th round of Sino-German diplomatic and security strategic dialogue, visited France for Sino-French foreign ministers' talks, and attended the new meeting of the Sino-French High-Level Humanistic Exchange Mechanism. During his stay in Brussels, Wang Yi will also meet and hold talks separately with Belgian Prime Minister De Wever and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prevost.

On July 2, Wang Yi held the 13th round of Sino-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue with the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kallas, in Brussels.

Wang Yi stated that China is not the US, and the US path should not be used as a mirror for China. China and the EU have different historical cultures and values, and differences should not be seen as opponents, nor should differences lead to confrontation. Currently, Europe is facing various challenges, but past, present, and future are not coming from China. He hopes that the EU truly establishes an objective and rational perception of China and adopts a more positive and practical policy toward China.

Wang Yi said that in the face of rising uncertainty and instability in the international situation, China and the EU, as two major powers and two major economies, should strengthen exchanges, deepen understanding, enhance mutual trust, and promote cooperation, jointly maintain the post-war international order, and provide scarce certainty for the world.

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