Chinese firms slam von der Leyen’s hawkish anti-Beijing turn

Ursula von der Leyen’s vehement denunciation of China’s protectionist policies at the G7 this week is a “clear case of economic scapegoating” that "diverts attention" from the EU's own economic malaise, according to Chinese firms based in the EU.

The European Commission president revived her hawkish language on Beijing in a blistering speech to Western leaders including Donald Trump on Monday, warning of a "new China shock" and calling out Beijing's "pattern of dominance, dependency and blackmail" against global trading partners.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU, a lobby group representing more than a thousand Chinese companies operating across the bloc, said von der Leyen’s speech “only serves to divide the global economy”.

“We call for a return to fact-based dialogue and constructive engagement, rather than unsubstantiated rhetoric,” a spokesperson for the group told Euractiv.

The Commission president’s warning that Beijing’s state-led industrial model poses a “threat” to Western countries “conveniently diverts attention” from Europe’s “own structural economic challenges”, they added.

The US, particularly under Trump, has encouraged Europe to adopt a tougher stance on China, framing transatlantic unity as essential to countering Beijing’s economic assertiveness and authoritarian influence.

China’s recent decision to limit the sales of seven rare earth minerals, meanwhile, has raised concerns of weaponising global reliance on these goods, spooking EU officials.

Von der Leyen's considerably tougher language comes ahead of a 9 July deadline on US tariffs and a EU-China summit in late July.

Earlier this year, by comparison, the Commission president had pledged a "deepening" of trade and investment ties with Beijing.

EU businesses struggle to keep up

The EU's Chamber of Commerce in China, which represents more than 1,700 EU firms based in China, said von der Leyen’s change in tack suggests that Brussels’ concerns about Beijing’s policies have “intensified” in the wake of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which include a 30% minimum levy on Chinese exports.

Analysts, EU officials, and industry groups have repeatedly warned that Washington’s duties could cause Chinese goods to flood EU markets after rebounding off the US “tariff wall”.

The lobby group had informed the Chinese government that other nations “are increasingly likely to take action to protect their own economic interests if China does not address the issue of its growing trade surplus with many of its key trade partners," Jens Eskelund, president of the EUCCC, told Euractiv.

Many European companies have suffered as a direct result of Beijing’s restrictions on foreign businesses’ access to “strategic segments” of the Chinese economy, Eskelund said.

A recent in-house survey found that almost two-thirds of EU firms “missed business opportunities in 2024 due to market access and regulatory barriers”, he added.

Pre-summit dance

July's EU-China summit had initially been scheduled to take place in Brussels, but the EU side had given way to pressure by Beijing to hold it in the Chinese capital instead, according to a source with knowledge of the preparations.

One EU diplomat said von der Leyen's remarks were an attempt to reassure US officials that Europe "is not throwing itself into the arms of China" amid continued EU-US trade tensions.

Brussels has repeatedly proposed coordinating its China policy with the US to avoid Trump’s tariffs. Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said last month that an EU-US trade deal could include a “common threat” of tariffs on China.

The CCCEU, however, downplayed the possibility of joint EU-US action on China. "At this stage, there is no indication of imminent EU-US joint tariffs on China, nor is this approach currently under active consideration by Washington," the spokesperson said, adding that "such measures would likely prove counterproductive in the long term".

(om)