China Threatens to Launch Trade Probes Against the European Union
Beijing has threatened to launch trade probes against the European Union if the 27-member bloc pushes ahead with a proposal to curb imports of heavily subsidized foreign products.
Chinese authorities could initiate anti-discrimination and supply-chain security investigations into the EU's "overcapacity instrument," a social media account run by China's state broadcaster said Friday.
The turned-up rhetoric comes as European officials are scheduled to hold closely watched talks on Friday to discuss ramping up the bloc's trade defenses--a move widely seen as aimed at shielding critical industries from Chinese rivals.
European leaders hold the view that China's global industrial dominance is a result of decades of government subsidies and non-reciprocal market access.
Analysts say the safeguards floated to shield European manufacturers from state-subsidized goods could effectively serve as a sweeping new trade-defense mechanism against China, though the proposal is still under debate among the EU's member states.
By empowering Brussels to cap imports and impose sector-wide tariffs, the tool would target Chinese industrial exports in key markets like electric vehicles, steel, and solar panels, according to analysts.
Yuyuantantian, the state-run social media account, said the measure is specifically aimed at China even though the EU hasn't explicitly stated it.
"The EU's economic and trade policy toward China is going further and further down a radical path," it said, citing several EU moves this year including the Industrial Accelerator Act aimed at bolstering the bloc's industrial capacity.
Over the past few years, China and the EU have exchanged several rounds of tit-for-tat retaliation against each other's trade moves. Concerned that a flood of cheap Chinese products would crush European competitiveness, the EU has launched multiple investigations into Chinese companies.
Write to Singapore Editors at singaporeeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2026 01:46 ET (05:46 GMT)
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