Europe’s China policy enters its bargaining phase
The European Union is shifting its China policy from simple dependency reduction to a formal bargaining phase regarding trade and market access. Negotiations are currently focused on balancing trade flows and addressing industrial imbalances, with potential for autonomous measures if talks fail.
Why it matters
The evolving trade relationship between the EU and China is a critical factor in global economic stability and industrial competitiveness.
ROME – The EU has moved from reducing dependencies on China to negotiating the terms on which the relationship continues, with October as the first test of whether Beijing will accept them.
Driving the news: That shift was at the centre of “ Securing Europe-China Policy: Emerging Trends ,” a roundtable held on September 29 at John Cabot University’s Guarini Institute for Public Affairs and chaired by its associate director, Enrico Fardella , gathering in Rome diplomats, scholars, think tankers from several European countries.
Why it matters: Reducing excessive dependencies commands broad support, and the contention has moved to execution. Brussels increasingly expects measurable changes in trade flows, market access and the reliability of critical-material supplies, while Beijing reads European measures as protectionism and locates Europe’s competitiveness problem at home.
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