EU hardens its China stance, as trade war risk heightens

Germany’s chancellor said this week that Europe’s biggest economy supported tougher measures to combat “unfair” Chinese trade practices. Senior European business and political leaders hardened their stance towards China, suggesting a trade war between the two giant economies may be imminent. Germany’s chancellor said this week that Europe’s biggest economy supported tougher measures to combat “ unfair ” Chinese trade practices, the CEO of Danish wind farm developer Ørsted called for the EU to be “ much more active ” in supporting European industry against rivals from China, and the European Commission president said Brussels would use all means at its disposal to reduce what had become an “unsustainable” trade deficit with Beijing. “The EU would prefer to avoid a trade war with China,” a leading analyst of the two sides’ relations wrote. “ But it may have no choice.”