China and the European Union are running out of road. Photo: Flickr

Beijing is ‘cruising for a bruising’ in Brussels battle

European Union takes the gloves off after rubber stamping Chinese EV tariffs amid growing tension

ByChina Factor Staff

Brussels is ready for a bruising battle with “rival” Beijing as trade tensions rise. The Belgium capital is the beating heart of the European Union, the largest economic bloc in the world, involving 27 nation-states. It might move slowly, but it packs a punch.

Earlier this week, the EU confirmed that July’s decision to roll out tariffs of up to nearly 46% on heavily subsidized Chinese electric vehicles, or EVs, would go ahead. Three months of intensive talks failed to break the deadlock.

Beijing’s response has been predictable. “[We] will not accept the ruling. [We] will continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese companies,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

Background noise:

  • Communist Party state-funded high-tech industries are posing a direct threat to the EU. 
  • As the world’s second-largest economy slows, China is exporting its excess capacity at rock-bottom prices, such as EVs. 

China is becoming more repressive at home and more assertive abroad.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission

Delve deeper: “I will … defend the EU’s values and protect [its] interest [from] rivals. My priority in engaging with China will be to safeguard the EU’s security,” Kaja Kallas, the new head of foreign and security policy, wrote to European Union Parliament members.

Big picture: Still, trade and tariffs are just two issues in a growing catalog of concerns in Brussels. President Xi Jinping’s “no-limits” partnership with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is another as Moscow’s military invasion of Ukraine drags on. 

Between the lines: “How China continues to interact with Putin’s war [in Ukraine] will be a determining factor for EU-China relations,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said in a scathing speech last year.

The bottom line: “These actions point to a China that is becoming more repressive at home and more assertive abroad,” she added.

China Factor comment: Nothing has changed in the past year. If anything, the economic and diplomatic landscape between Brussels and Beijing has become a geopolitical minefield.