On Thursday, European Union leaders gathered in Brussels for an emergency summit to address a record trade deficit with China that has reached €1 billion per day.
Officials are sounding the alarm over "China Shock 2.0," a wave of state-subsidized exports that experts say could permanently hollow out Europe’s industrial manufacturing base. While the U.S. has used aggressive tariffs for years, Europe remains divided on whether to trigger a full-blown trade war with an opponent that possesses significant economic firepower. Specific concerns focus on sectors like electric vehicles and green tech, where Chinese pricing is so low that local European competitors cannot survive without intervention.
The summit is expected to result in a new strategy for "aggressive trade defenses" while attempting to avoid a total collapse of diplomatic relations.
.Join in on more popular conversations.