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Germany aligns with France on China trade defence as EU deficit grows
The EU adds about €1.0 billion each day to its trade deficit with China, the leaders said, while calling for concrete proposals from Brussels by using existing trade tools.
Germany and France moved closer together on China-related trade policy after a Franco-German Ministerial Council, with Berlin requesting a joint roadmap that is due by September, according to SCMP Economy.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the two governments are working in tandem as Russia threatens European security, China challenges the region’s economy, and the transatlantic partnership has lost its “self-evident” character. SCMP Economy reports that France’s President Emmanuel Macron used sharper language, denouncing China’s “great trade aggressiveness,” while Macron said neither country is anti-China.
The leaders backed a swift and systematic use of existing EU tools and pledged to press Brussels to produce concrete proposals to strengthen the bloc’s trade defence toolbox, industrial policy, and economic security, according to the joint statement cited by SCMP Economy.
Macron also pointed to trade figures, saying Europe adds about €1.0 billion (US$1.14 billion) to its trade deficit with China every day and that the gap costs thousands of jobs, SCMP Economy reported.