Dispute over trade practices
China threatens EU with “countermeasures”
June 24, 2026 – 6:24 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The EU is grappling with its growing trade deficit with China and is considering tougher steps. Beijing insists on dialogue – and at the same time threatens.
A few days before a visit by Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao to Brussels The country’s ambassador to the EU warned against “discriminatory” trade measures and threatened countermeasures.
“The two sides are partners, not rivals and certainly not enemies,” Cai Run said at an event in Brussels on Wednesday. “We oppose restrictive and discriminatory measures China taken in the name of minimizing risk and reducing dependencies.”
EU accuses China of unfair trade
If the EU insists on such measures, China will have to “take countermeasures to defend its legitimate interests,” warned the ambassador. At the same time, he emphasized: “We are fully capable of resolving economic and trade policy differences and tensions through dialogue.”
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In recent weeks, the EU has repeatedly complained about the growing trade deficit with China. The EU throws Beijing proposes to use state aid to give their own companies an unfair advantage on the world market.
Minister comes to Brussels on Monday
At the EU summit last week, the heads of state and government spoke out in favor of continuing to rely on dialogue. At the same time, however, they were also preparing for a tougher approach by calling on the EU Commission to explore new options for dealing with trade policy problems.
The fact that China was neither mentioned on the agenda nor in the final declaration of the summit showed how great the fear of Beijing’s trading power is in European capitals. Diplomats point to the trade war, the US President Donald Trump had broken the fence with China. A trade conflict with the People’s Republic must be avoided.
China’s Trade Minister Wang is expected in Brussels on Monday. There he will hold talks with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
