Von Der Leyen Calls for “Fair Competition” with China

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed hope for the future of trade relations with China in the context of “fair competition.”

Von der Leyen spoke ahead of a trilateral summit to be held in Paris on May 6 with Chinese President Xi Jinping on his first trip to Europe since 2019 and French President Emmanuel Macron: “We must act to ensure competition between countries. China and Europe are fair and undistorted. Fair competition is good for Europe because it stimulates innovation and growth, as well as creates good jobs in Europe.”

The European Union has long been investigating the Chinese government’s alleged unfair support for the supply chain of electric vehicles, photovoltaic panel production, and medical purchases. The West also often talks about Chinese industrial overproduction, which floods markets with goods at out-of-market prices.

“I urge the Chinese government to address overcapacity in the short term. At the same time, we will coordinate closely with the G7 countries and emerging economies that are increasingly affected by China’s market distortions. The current imbalance in market access is not sustainable and needs to be addressed. With huge subsidies, China currently produces more than it sells due to weak domestic demand, leading to an oversupply of subsidized Chinese goods, such as electric cars and steel, resulting in unfair trade,” von der Leyen concluded.