The Chinese flag flies above the China Customs building at the Yantian Port terminal in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, October 30, 2025.
Wang Tingju | Reuters
BEIJING – China’s Ministry of Commerce has sent a strong warning to the European Union ahead of high-level talks scheduled in Beijing next week.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement late Tuesday that China would “respond firmly” if the EU introduces restrictions on Chinese companies and products, according to a Mandarin translation by CNBC.
The ministry said such actions would “severely undermine mutual trust” and “disrupt” negotiations during trade talks between China and the EU.
Europe wants to reduce its record trade deficit with China by October, and China and the EU are holding trade talks this summer. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčović warned in an interview with Euronews this week that Beijing must deliver “concrete results” by October or face “tougher measures.” He is scheduled to visit Beijing next week.
Rhodium Group’s Noah Barkin said earlier this week that Europe is considering measures to exclude China.
He cited European officials as saying Germany and France are finalizing a joint document asking the European Commission to accelerate the development of tools that would allow Brussels to “cut China out of European markets within 24 hours,” as one official put it.
Barkin said the measure could mirror Section 301 of the U.S. Tariff Act. China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that it is open to Europe’s consideration of a 301-type tool.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations surpassed the EU in 2020 to become China’s largest trading partner in goods, but the EU has the world’s largest trade deficit with China, recently surpassing that of the United States, according to China Customs data accessed through Wind Information.
Including services, the EU said China was China’s largest trading partner, with total trade totaling nearly 880 billion euros (about $1 trillion) last year.
