If Brussels starts a trade war, Beijing will finish it

IT’S showdown time. From Jun 18 to 19, European Union leaders will meet in Brussels to decide how to take on China over trade.

Then again, these days it’s always showdown time. For years, the EU has become increasingly alarmed at China’s dominance of green technology and its interventionist trade and industrial policy, but done little to combat it. 

Internal divisions have restrained EU assertiveness. Germany and Spain, wanting to protect – respectively – exports to and inward electric vehicle investment from China, stand ready with buckets of cold water to cool down what they see as hot-headed trade warriors.