【By Observer Net, Liu Bai】 Unable to compete with China in trade, the EU Commissioner for Trade has reflected on it — of course, without missing the chance to blame China.
On February 24 local time, Jozef Sivok, the European Commission official responsible for trade and economic security, criticized the EU's sluggish and rigid approach to trade defense during a speech at the European Parliament, stating that it had long failed to keep up with the changing global trade landscape and was unable to resist China's increasingly strong export surge. As soon as he finished speaking, he directly pointed the finger at China, repeating old accusations such as "overcapacity", "unfair trade policies", and "state subsidies", filled with anxiety and passivity.
The commissioner also took a moment to boast that his interactions with the U.S. helped ease the semiconductor crisis caused by Amkor Technology affecting Europe.
According to the Hong Kong-based English media South China Morning Post, Sivok claimed in his speech to the European Parliament's Trade Committee that the EU's trade deficit with China had reached a dangerous level. "The EU's trade deficit with China reached 360 billion euros in 2025, which is clearly unsustainable in the medium to long term," he said. He also cited data to accuse China of using 4% of its GDP for "various forms of state subsidies," implying this was the main cause of the "trade imbalance."
Such statements, which ignore facts, are not uncommon in Western media recently. China has repeatedly emphasized that its industrial subsidy policy adheres to the principles of openness, fairness, and compliance, strictly following WTO rules. China's industrial development relies on continuous technological innovation, a complete supply chain system, adequate market competition, and abundant human resources — real capabilities, not subsidies.
Although the EU is currently conducting more than 200 trade defense investigations, Sivok admitted that the current investigation mechanism is inefficient. "A regular trade investigation may take over a year, and often depends on formal complaints from companies, which takes too long and often misses the opportunity to take action."
He called for accelerating the trade investigation process within the framework of EU economic security to respond to the so-called impact of China's export machine.
Sivok confirmed that the EU is closely monitoring the growth of plug-in hybrid car exports from China to Europe. He plans to hold talks with China at the WTO ministerial conference in Cameroon next month, with topics including the EU-China trade deficit, market access for EU companies in China, and China's export controls on rare earths.
"We will continue to engage with China. We are currently discussing the prospects of high-level contacts this year, and any high-level interaction should be results-oriented," he added.
EU Commissioner for Trade Sivok IC Photo
The report states that Sivok's remarks come at a time when the EU is deeply reflecting on its position in the global order.
Currently, there is intense debate within the EU about how to stand in a world where major powers can easily disregard rules, and China's growing influence in global trade has further worried the EU. In response, the EU has begun to introduce a series of trade protection measures to strengthen its defensive capabilities.
At the end of 2025, the EU released a new economic security strategy aimed at accelerating trade actions and linking them with industrial and security policy goals.
In January this year, the EU circulated documents at the WTO, attempting to push for amendments to the most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment principle, arguing that this benefit should be "earned through effort" rather than automatically enjoyed by member states.
The MFN treatment principle is the cornerstone of non-discrimination in trade within the WTO. It requires that any trade preference given to one member (such as a reduction in tariffs) must be immediately and unconditionally extended to all other WTO members. In simple terms, it means "one country's favor, all countries benefit."
Sivok also published a column article in the Financial Times, echoing this stance, saying that the move aims to "open up a sincere debate on WTO reform."
In specific policy terms, the EU is set to launch the "Industrial Acceleration Act" next week, planning to set a maximum requirement of 70% local content for public procurement in strategic sectors like electric vehicles, effectively creating an implicit preference for "buying European," which indirectly limits foreign companies' participation.
At the same time, the EU continues to increase its trade investigations against China. This year alone, it has launched investigations into Chinese wind turbine manufacturers and fast fashion company Shein, and introduced relevant laws targeting Chinese telecommunications giants Huawei and ZTE.
Other than China-related issues, Sivok also focused on the EU's trade relationship with the United States in this speech.
Regarding the controversial trade agreement between the EU and the U.S. reached in the summer of 2025, the European Parliament has suspended the approval process due to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court declaring Trump's tariffs illegal, as well as Trump's subsequent 15% global import base tariff.
Sivok strongly defended this agreement in the parliament, urging members to restart the approval process and vote next month.
"At the time, we had only two choices: sign this agreement or face a trade war in August," he asked the members, "If I had told you that the negotiations had failed and a trade war was coming, leading to factory closures, job losses, and a sharp deterioration of U.S.-Europe relations, would you have been happy?"
He also revealed that his interactions with the U.S. had helped ease the semiconductor crisis that hit Europe in 2025.
"It's not black and white. Last autumn, when we faced a traditional chip crisis, I spoke with (U.S. Treasury Secretary) Scott Bessent three times a day until the issue was resolved."
"I specifically reminded him that when you communicate with China, please remember: this issue concerns transatlantic supply chains — and they did indeed do so," Sivok said.
The Dutch government previously acted unilaterally and instigated the Amkor Semiconductor dispute, which once triggered a "great earthquake" in the global automotive supply chain. However, the Netherlands has still not learned from this experience and continues to try to interfere with Amkor Semiconductor's management.
On February 11, the Amsterdam court ruled to formally investigate Amkor Semiconductor's alleged mismanagement. The ruling also upheld the Dutch government's previous decision to suspend the Chinese CEO of Amkor Semiconductor and allowed the company's European interim management team to remain in place.
On February 13, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce emphasized that the top priority is to restore stability and smoothness in the global semiconductor supply chain, which is a common interest of the international industry, including China and the Netherlands. It hopes that the Dutch side will take the initiative and create favorable conditions for both sides to negotiate a constructive solution to internal disputes.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/7610696076441436672/
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