EU gets tough on China as trade imbalance stokes deindustrialisation fears
Key takeaways
- Talks between EU trade commissioner and Chinese commerce minister come as bloc seeks to limit influx of Chinese imports.
- But behind the diplomatic niceties, Sefcovic’s message to China rang out loud and clear.
- Addressing the media after a marathon day of negotiations with Wang, Sefcovic may not have literally said “enough is enough,” but he hardly needed to.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Talks between EU trade commissioner and Chinese commerce minister come as bloc seeks to limit influx of Chinese imports.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (L) attending a news conference of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing on October 24, 2025, and European Union trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic speaking before signing a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership on critical minerals at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2026 [File: Pedro Pardo and Annabelle Gordon/AFP]By John PowerPublished On 30 Jun 202630 Jun 2026As European Union trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic hosted Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Brussels for talks on Monday, the Slovak diplomat was all smiles.
But behind the diplomatic niceties, Sefcovic’s message to China rang out loud and clear.