EU business leader cautions on rapid growth of Chinese exports to Europe

Published on 24/09/2025 - 10:16 GMT+2

Jens Eskelund, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce successful China, warned of a crisp emergence successful Chinese exports to Europe pursuing Washington’s announcement of sweeping import tariffs successful April. 

"We person seen successful the archetypal fractional of the twelvemonth however exports from China to North America person been declining. So I deliberation you could possibly word it a commercialized diversion, but I don't deliberation it's the full story," helium told Euronews successful an interrogation connected Tuesday.

Eskelund pointed to 3 main drivers down the export surge — the competitiveness of Chinese firms, a weaker currency, and beardown authorities support. Pressure that European businesses connected the crushed are besides feeling.  

According to the latest survey by the EU Chamber of Commerce successful China, 73% of respondents said doing concern determination is becoming harder twelvemonth aft year, with assurance present astatine stone bottom. More than fractional (52%) besides reported that the concern situation had go progressively politicised compared with the erstwhile year.

"The pessimism that you spot close present is chiefly owed to the authorities of the Chinese economy. We person seen that successful galore sectors determination is precise aggravated contention and overcapacity successful immoderate others," Eskelund said.

But helium added that the temper could amended if Beijing manages to reconstruct equilibrium betwixt proviso and demand. "We truly deliberation the Chinese authorities close present needs to absorption connected however bash we get backmost to a concern wherever request and proviso are successful amended alignment than is the lawsuit today," helium argued.

Shifting commercialized flows from the US to Europe could person superior consequences for European industries — peculiarly if imports are offered astatine precise debased prices, putting section producers nether strain. Still, the European Commission does not spot grounds of a large commercialized diversion taking place.

"Our assessment astatine contiguous infinitesimal is that determination is nary specified summation that is simply a origin for alarm," EU Commission's spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters connected Monday.

EU-China commercialized war: unavoidable?

In caller years, relations betwixt the EU and China person been stuck successful a rhythm of friction, driven by restricted marketplace entree for European firms successful China, increasing commercialized imbalances, and Beijing’s enactment for Russia successful its warfare against Ukraine.

The hostility was wide erstwhile European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled to Beijing for the EU-China acme successful July, informing that relations had reached an “inflection point”.

Von der Leyen demanded contiguous enactment to rebalance commercialized aft the EU’s commercialized shortage with China deed €305.8 cardinal successful 2024. She besides powerfully criticised China’s determination to restrict exports of 7 captious earthy materials — a determination that, for galore successful Brussels, underscored Europe’s dependency connected the Asian giant.

“Maybe governments should beryllium reasoning similar companies,” Jens Eskelund, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce successful China, told Euronews. He argued that governments, similar businesses, request to see alternatives erstwhile a cardinal proviso root dries up.

“One of the things that we person learned successful caller years is that we ever request to person a program B and possibly adjacent a program C,” helium added.

But with the United States stepping up unit connected Europe to harden its stance, and commercialized imbalances showing nary motion of easing, Eskelund cautioned that tensions with China are astir definite to emergence if thing changes.

“We don't deliberation that thing is unavoidable, but we deliberation that we are connected a trajectory wherever we request to halt and inquire ourselves: are we close present expanding the risk?” helium said.

To forestall relations from deteriorating further, the EU concern person urged some sides to beryllium down and perceive to each other’s concerns earlier the fallout becomes excessively costly for some economies.

“It's precise hard for america to foretell what the aboriginal looks like, (but) each this volatility close present is thing that affects concern behaviours, and I deliberation that close present is simply a large challenge,” helium said.

Jorge Liboreiro contributed to this story.