Time is running out: what trade concessions can the EU win from China?

Brussels and Beijing are heading toward a trade confrontation in the coming months, but the concessions Europe can actually extract from China will depend on several factors – chief among them how much economic pain the EU is willing to endure. The EU-China trade deficit has grown exponentially in recent years, reaching a record €1 billion a day in 2025, prompting European leaders to demand a rebalancing of what they call “unsustainable” economic relations with Beijing. Tensions have escalated in recent months as the EU makes moves to protect its market, targeting Chinese companies over illegal products, public subsidies and…