The EU's trade deficit with China is approaching 3000 billion kroner. Now the EU will find the reasons for the imbalance, which continues to grow. This is what European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis says.
- The trade deficit has exploded in recent years. We need to look at what the reasons are. And what we need to do about it, says Valdis Dombrovskis at a press conference in Beijing.
Here he concludes a four-day visit to China on Tuesday, where there has been a great focus on the imbalances in trade with China. Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an investigation into state aid from China to the Chinese car industry. This comes after Chinese cars have taken an ever-increasing market share in the EU.
- Global markets are being flooded with cheaper Chinese cars, said Ursula von der Leyen in her opening speech in the European Parliament on 13 September, adding:
- The price of Chinese electric cars is being kept artificially low through subsidies.
In effect, she is stating that China is providing state aid to its car industry so that prices can be kept lower than what the cars can be produced for in the EU.
EU more open to China than vice versa
However, according to Dombrovskis, there are also other imbalances in the relationship between the EU, which includes around 450 million people, and China, which consists of around 1.4 billion people.
- We have concerns about market access in China for European companies, says Dombrovskis.
According to Dombrovskis, the EU is more open to Chinese companies and goods, than China is towards companies and products from Europe. At the same time, unclear rules and laws in China are a challenge for European companies:
- In a recent survey conducted by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, two thirds of European companies responded that it has become more difficult to do business in China, says Dombrovskis.
He highlights that according to the survey, the business environment has become more "political" and less predictable. This applies, for example, to China's anti-espionage laws, the interpretations of which are often unclear.
- We have asked our Chinese partners to work on this with us. We want to see more transparency and predictability, says Dombrovskis.
He stresses that the EU does not see a trade deficit as a problem in itself. There will always be some countries from which it imports more than others. But this must not be due to unequal competition conditions and lack of market access, he emphasizes.
/ritzau/
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