In the tense relations between Europe and China, the EU wants to continue to put the trade deficit at the top of the agenda to the benefit of the People’s Republic. It is normal not to have a balanced trade balance with every economy in the world, said EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday at the end of his multi-day visit to Beijing. “But if, of course, the trade deficit explodes as it has in recent years, you have to look at the reasons for it and how you can tackle the problem,” the Latvian EU politician continued.
According to Dombrovskis, there is a trade deficit of almost 400 billion euros between the EU and China, to the advantage of the East Asian country with around 1.4 billion people. The EU is still China’s important export market. However, European companies in China are worried and unsure about regulations there, such as the anti-espionage law, the interpretation of which is often not clear. China needs to provide more transparency here.
The EU does not see a trade deficit per se as a problem, said Dombrovskis. In the case of China, however, there are a number of reasons for this. The EU Trade Commissioner mentioned market access, for example. According to him, the EU is more open to Chinese companies and goods than China is to companies and products from Europe. The questions about market access were widely discussed during his talks in Beijing and Shanghai. The EU would like to see more balance in trade and relations with the world’s second largest economy. (dpa)