EU's Trade Deficit With China Hit €1 Billion a Day in July
A new study finds EU imports from China run three times higher than European exports to China, as Xi-Trump talks loom.
European consumers and businesses are spending three times more on goods from China than Chinese buyers are purchasing from the European Union, according to a new study released ahead of a high-stakes diplomatic summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Customs data underpinning the study revealed that the EU's trade deficit with China — the gap between what the bloc imports and what it exports — exceeded €1 billion, or roughly £860 million, per day in July alone. The figures underscore the persistent and widening imbalance in one of the world's most consequential trade relationships.
Read more West End Play on Keynes Arrives as UK Budget Debate Intensifies →
The findings arrive at a politically charged moment. Xi's scheduled summit with Trump places trans-Atlantic trade tensions in sharp relief, with European officials closely watching how Washington's approach to Beijing may ripple through global supply chains and affect EU competitiveness. The EU has separately been grappling with how to rebalance its economic relationship with China without triggering broader trade conflict.
The scale of the deficit — running at more than €30 billion for a single month — illustrates the structural challenge facing European policymakers seeking to reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing while sustaining market access for European exporters in key sectors such as automobiles and luxury goods. Analysts note that closing such a gap would require either a significant surge in Chinese demand for European products or a substantial reduction in EU import volumes, neither of which appears imminent.
Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.