Europe rallies around tough new China strategy ahead of key summit

From free marketeers to long-term interventionists, EU countries of all stripes are converging on the need for urgent action to prevent a Chinese-driven European deindustrialisation ahead of a key summit in Brussels, multiple sources said on Wednesday.

A broad coalition of members now support the development of a tough new trade strategy that could involve multiple new instruments and a more rapid-fire, strategic use of existing weapons.

“There are different strands: a diversification instrument and a more protective instrument. There’s work to be done to see how both can be combined – this is why the commission needs guidance from leaders to find a compromise,” said a senior diplomat from a supportive member state, who, like many, spoke on condition of anonymity because policy is still evolving.

“There’s a link between overcapacity and subsidies – especially if we can’t do a proper investigation in third countries on what kind of subsidies they are using, we have to defend ourselves against that,” the diplomat continued.