China says EU cherry-picking to justify trade curbs, warns of response

[BEIJING/BRUSSELS] China’s foreign ministry on Thursday (May 28) accused the European Union of using trade data selectively to justify claims of imbalances, after the bloc said it was looking to broaden import quotas and tariffs on Chinese goods to protect vulnerable industries.

Beijing was responding after European Union industry chief Stephane Sejourne told the Financial Times that Brussels would look at toughening measures to shield certain industrial sectors from what the bloc sees as an “existential” threat from Chinese imports.

“We will use safeguard clauses in a more general manner on sectors and not just on businesses or particular raw materials,” Sejourne told the FT, adding that European industries such as chemicals, metals and clean technology were at risk of being destroyed by unfair Chinese competition.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that no one is forced to trade with China and that Beijing would take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

“If one looks only at trade in goods, without considering trade in services and investment income, focus only on headline trade figures, not the structure of trade and where profits flow... it will naturally lead to a one-sided conclusion of trade imbalance,” Mao told a regular press conference.

“Whether it is de-risking, reducing dependence, or so-called trade balance, these are in essence protectionism,” Mao added.

Sejourne will make his case during talks on Friday between EU commissioners on how to rebalance EU-China relations.

The commissioner’s spokesperson confirmed that Sejourne is pushing for the bloc to deploy import quotas and tariffs “more systematically” to shield European industries from Chinese competition.

Some of the EU’s biggest economies including France, Italy and Spain are pushing Brussels to revamp trade measures to defend the bloc more effectively against excessively cheap imports.

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The EU’s goods trade deficit with China increased by 2.7 per cent in 2025 to 359.9 billion euros (S$534.5 billion).

“International trade is a two-way choice,” Mao said. “There is no such thing as forced buying or selling... China does not deliberately pursue a trade surplus with Europe,” he added, while urging the EU to take a “comprehensive and objective” view of its economic ties with Beijing.

Europe frets that the survival of industrial sectors such as chemicals, metals and clean technologies is threatened by unfair Chinese competition. It has long accused China of using state-backed subsidies, market access barriers and policies it says distort competition.

China rejects the notion that its trade practices are unjust.

Sejourne’s proposal was first reported by the FT, Handelsblatt and Le Monde. REUTERS