Trade tensions between the European Union (EU) and China have increased in recent months as European business associations and institutions become increasingly aware of the threat the Asian nation poses to the continental economy and industrial system.
European companies and institutions are increasingly worried about overcapacity in several Chinese industrial segments and, as a result, exports to the EU at very low prices.
While China's economic growth has had a negative impact on some European industrial segments for decades, the problem has worsened since the introduction of tariffs in the United States in 2025, which has led to a reorientation of supplies from China, as well as from other countries, towards Europe.
What used to be seen as a problem of a separate industrial segment has now turned into a political problem.
On Monday, June 29, European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Brussels during the first meeting of the EU-China Trade and Investment Council (TIC).
The two ministers agreed on four initial areas of work, namely trade and investment balance, export control, intellectual property rights, and reform of the World Trade Organization, and agreed to meet again in the autumn at the ministerial level of 2026.
Both sides have taken note of the positive results achieved so far in the EU-China Export Control Dialogue on Rare Earths and Other essential materials and minerals, and intend to strengthen dialogue in this area," the ministers said in a joint statement on June 29. Both sides discussed the importance of continuing to share experiences in the field of information on their respective regulatory frameworks and licensing policies. They recognized the need to strengthen the dialogue between the EU and China on export control issues and agreed on the need for further assistance efforts aimed at maintaining the stability of global industrial supply chains.
The meeting took place after pointing to growing tensions between the two partners and at a time when there was growing awareness in Europe of the need for intervention.
At the end of May, the European Manufacturing Association Aegis Europe, which includes, in particular, associations and companies of the metallurgical, ceramic and transport industries, sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, calling for "faster and more effective trade protection procedures, as well as the urgent allocation of additional human resources to the Trade Protection Department of the General
