Kaja Kallas, the head of EU diplomacy, recently suggested that removing the European continent’s dependence on China is like trying to cure a disease. «Chemotherapy» may be needed, Kallas indicated, and the process will likely be painful, writes The New York Times. The comments highlight the tone Europe is increasingly taking towards China, the EU’s second largest trading partner in goods after the US. As Beijing adopts increasingly aggressive trade policies and imports from China to Europe skyrocket, European leaders and companies are increasingly concerned about dependence on Chinese products and debating how to reduce it. With China becoming increasingly dominant in the manufacturing sector, Europe is facing an existential threat to its own industries. You may also be interested: According to Eurostat data cited by Euronews, EU imports from China totaled 559.4 billion euros in 2025, an increase of 89% compared to 2015, generating a trade deficit of 359.8 billion euros. In 2025 alone, EU exports to China fell by 6.5%, while imports increased by 6.4%. From solar panels to rare earths and industrial robots, Chinese firms have quietly become the dominant and often sole supplier to a growing number of European industries. Tensions between China and the EU have escalated in recent months, prompting the European Commission to convene most of its commissioners for a strategic rethink late last week. «China is a vital partner, and the involvement and dialogue will continue», it says in a press release. «At the same time, the current state of the commercial and investment relationship is not sustainable». Relations have steadily deteriorated since Commission President Ursula von der Leyen branded Beijing a systemic rival in 2023. But tensions rose to a new level once EU strategists resolved their differences over the EU-US deal, allowing the bloc to focus more heavily on China. «We are witnessing a panic attack in recent weeks about China,» an EU official told Euronews. China, according to him, is a subject «overlooked for far too long». A total of 200,000 jobs have been lost in EU industry from 2024, with a further 600,000 expected this decade in the automotive industry alone. The Commission specified that the general approach is to reduce risks, not decoupling. And yet, the risk of a full-blown trade war has never felt so real. Commissioners floated ideas on the relationship with China ahead of a summit of EU leaders on June 18-19, and possible proposals include forcing EU firms to diversify their supply chains or introducing new trade mechanisms to restrict China’s access to EU markets for chemicals, metals and clean energy technology. Any concrete proposals for the EU’s response are not expected until another third quarter of this year. Concerns from Brussels are met with hostility in Beijing, where officials warn that China will retaliate against any protectionist measures from the Europeans. Tensions are likely to escalate in the coming weeks. World leaders will discuss global economic imbalances at a G7 meeting in Evian, France. Reducing dependence on China could prove extremely complicated for Europe, notes The New York Times. Politicians and companies fear retaliation, and consumers are dependent on what China sells. «We are not in a good situation,» says Rebecca Arcesati, from the Mercator Institute for China Studies, a think tank. It notes that European leaders must contend with voters and short-term political considerations, making countering Chinese inflows difficult, especially if Beijing retaliates.
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