Maroš Šefčovič arrived in Beijing this week with a message European workers have waited to hear: the bloc’s patience is running out. The European Commission’s top trade envoy was scheduled to meet Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao for two days, seeking to narrow a trade deficit that now tops $1 billion a day and has reached 360 billion euros ($410 billion). Earlier this year, Šefčovič gave Beijing until October to deliver meaningful results. That deadline has arrived.
Jobs on the Line
Behind the headline figures are factory floors and payrolls. In June, the European Policy Centre in Brussels warned that European producers of batteries, solar panels, steel, electric vehicles, chemicals and machinery were losing jobs and capacity. Major manufacturers, Volkswagen among them, have already carried out mass layoffs. German auto sales in China are dropping sharply, while Chinese carmakers, backed by heavy state subsidies, are positioned to seize European market share by undercutting prices.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the trend another “China shock” for Europe. She compared it with the early 2000s in the United States, when hundreds of thousands of factory jobs disappeared across the American heartland.
Parliament Pushes Back
Lawmakers in Strasbourg didn’t hold back. Following a debate on Tuesday, the European Parliament voted 454 to 86 on Wednesday for a resolution demanding “economic reciprocity and a proportionate EU response if China does not open its markets.” Belgian lawmaker Hilde Vautmans, who led the resolution, put it bluntly: “Europe has economic power, it’s time we used it.”
The EU has already imposed trade measures on Chinese steel imports and small e-commerce parcels. Options now under consideration range from tariffs to the Anti-Coercion Instrument, the so-called “trade bazooka.” This collection of measures has never been used; it could block or restrict trade and investment from countries found to be pressuring EU members or corporations. In a letter seen by The Associated Press, France and Germany called for a broad rethink of EU policy toward China, including making it easier for the Commission to use the instrument. France’s High Commission for Strategy and Planning called in February for swift action, including 30% tariffs on many Chinese exports.
A Divided Bloc, a Defiant Beijing
Not every capital wants a confrontation. Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, has taken a less adversarial approach in recent years, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has visited Beijing four times in three years. That division matters: trade policy is the one area where the EU speaks with a single voice only when its members allow it.
Beijing, for its part, isn’t backing down. China’s customs agency reported that exports to the EU rose 15.3% in the first eight months of the year, while imports from the EU increased 6.2%. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said: “Protectionism cannot enhance competitiveness, and decoupling or cutting off supply chains will only harm others without benefiting oneself.” The state-run Global Times took a harder line in an editorial: “The EU does not have the capacity to wage a trade war against China. If it is truly determined to do so, then let it try.” Just before the Šefčovič-Wang meeting, China launched an anti-dumping probe into EU exports of p-nitrotoluene, used in dyes and pharmaceuticals, after warning last month that it would retaliate against tougher measures.
Protection and Reform
Tim Rühlig, a China analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, said the EU’s weak economy needs domestic reform alongside a tougher foreign trade policy. European businesses and political leaders also bear some responsibility, he said. “It’s clear that just protecting yourself from China is not the future,” he said. “But to have a chance of making yourself ready for future technologies and to remain competitive in the coming 15-20 years, you have to protect yourself.” He added that complete disengagement, like the EU pursued with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, is impossible. “Where do we make ourselves independent or at least more diverse? And where do we still work with the Chinese?”
Max Zenglein of The Conference Board noted that China recorded a $1.2 trillion global trade surplus in 2025 and “has been battle-tested by successive rounds of external pressure.” Chinese investment in Europe could also serve as one of Beijing’s bargaining chips, he said, as member states compete for capital, jobs and new manufacturing projects.
Why This Matters:
For workers in steel foundries, battery plants and car factories, this isn’t an abstract trade dispute. It’s about whether a livelihood survives. Parliament’s 454-86 vote shows it sees the threat. But the split between capitals like Paris and Berlin on one side and Madrid on the other shows how difficult it will be to turn concern into a common response. A fragmented approach plays into Beijing’s hands: member states competing for Chinese investment weaken the bloc’s bargaining power. Tariffs alone won’t protect jobs; analysts like Rühlig say domestic reform and diversification must accompany them. How the EU balances protection, investment and unity in the coming weeks will shape who bears the cost of the next industrial shake-up.