Beijing’s trade surplus with Europe now reaches roughly €1 billion daily, a figure that has prompted the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China to demand a fundamental reset of the economic relationship.
Chamber President Jens Eskelund delivered the warning Tuesday from Beijing, framing the widening imbalance as a threat to the entire framework of bilateral commerce. Trade creates mutual value when functioning properly, he explained, but a one-sided arrangement inevitably triggers hard questions about why such exchange should continue.
European firms have long complained about uneven competitive conditions inside China. Eskelund said the stakes extend beyond individual company performance. The stability of the broader trade architecture hangs in the balance.
“There needs to be a win also for Europe,” he stated.
The chamber president pointed to a shifting political climate across Europe. Concerns about Chinese industrial competition have hardened into broader consensus, he noted. Yet Beijing may still underestimate how rapidly European attitudes have changed and how those shifts could translate into concrete policy action.
Meanwhile, negotiators from Brussels and Beijing remain locked in talks over several trade disputes. Officials expect possible resolutions by October, with new EU tariffs under active discussion as leverage.
The core question, according to Eskelund, no longer centers solely on whether European companies can thrive in China’s market. It now involves whether the relationship itself can survive without reciprocal benefits.
