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Jak uniknąć wojny handlowej z Chinami?
Czy zbliża się wojna handlowa z Chinami? W tym wydaniu naszej cotygodniowej debaty The Ring, Sakis Arnaoutoglou (S&D) i Nicolás de la Parte (EPL) dyskutują o tym, co może być jednym z najbardziej znaczących tematów w agendzie politycznej UE.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/05/07/jak-uniknac-wojny-handlowej-z-chinami
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Czy zbliża się wojna handlowa z Chinami? W tym wydaniu naszej cotygodniowej debaty The Ring, Sakis Arnaoutoglou (S&D) i Nicolás de la Parte (EPL) dyskutują o tym, co może być jednym z najbardziej znaczących tematów w agendzie politycznej UE.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/05/07/jak-uniknac-wojny-handlowej-z-chinami
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
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NewsTranscript
00:08Hello and welcome to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show broadcasting from the European Parliament here in Brussels.
00:16I'm Stefan Grobe.
00:17On The Ring, members of the European Parliament go face-to-face on some of the biggest issues facing Europe.
00:24Today, we want to talk about EU trade relations with China, which risk becoming so bad that the European economy
00:32may be seriously hit.
00:34Luis Alberto has more.
00:38Trade tensions between China and the European Union are escalating after Beijing called on EU member states to revise the
00:45bloc's proposed Made in Europe legislation.
00:49The draft proposal of the European Commission seeks to tighten the rules for foreign companies that want to participate in
00:56EU public procurement contracts or benefit from investment opportunities.
01:00The initiative, which aims to bolsters Europe's industrial capacity, was met with criticism by China's Commerce Ministry, who affirmed that
01:07if the EU quote insists on this punishment and treats China's enterprises in a discriminatory manner, Beijing would respond with
01:15countermeasures.
01:16In other words, retaliation.
01:19While Europe is trying to navigate a world of aggressive tariffs by Trump's administration, is it heading toward a full
01:25-scale trade conflict with China, or can it still strike a balance between protection and cooperation?
01:32A lot to unpack here for our contenders, and here they are.
01:39Sakis Arnautoglu, a Greek MEP from the Socialists and Democrats Group.
01:43He is a member of the Delegation for Relations with the People's Republic of China in the European Parliament.
01:48Advocating a pragmatic approach to global tensions, he cautions against escalation and said,
01:53Europe must remain open to cooperation with China, but it cannot remain naïve.
01:58We need a relationship based on fairness, reciprocity and transparency.
02:02The aim is not confrontation.
02:05Nicolás Pascual de la Parte, a Spanish MEP from the Central-Right European People's Party.
02:10A career diplomat, he served as ambassador of Spain to NATO.
02:13As an MEP, he is a member of the Committee on Security and Defense.
02:17A strong transatlanticist with a geopolitical outlook, he warns about the global power shift driven by Beijing, stating,
02:24China's export restrictions are an escalation of the weaponization of trade policies.
02:29We have to confront this in a smart way.
02:31That means we cannot decouple from China, but we have to de-risk.
02:36So let me welcome to the Ring Sakis Arnautoglu and Nicolás Pascual de la Parte.
02:41Great to see you, and thanks for coming on the show.
02:45Thanks for having us.
02:46So, the aim of the Ring is to offer our viewers a glimpse at European Parliament debates.
02:52So, you should feel right at home here on set.
02:56Are you ready?
02:57I am.
02:58Yes, indeed.
02:58Okay, let's start with the thing that made headlines just a few days ago.
03:03When Brussels presented its Made in Europe proposals to strengthen our industrial base,
03:08China reacted with unusual harshness, threatening retaliation.
03:13Should we now be scared, Sakis?
03:16Of course not.
03:17I mean, what we did was actually the logical thing to do, because China started it.
03:22I mean, it started some kind of a weird, let's say unfair competition and unfair trade
03:27that we have to answer back, because otherwise we are not going to be able just to defend
03:31our industry and defend what we actually have reached so far.
03:36This prosperity that the European Union has, 27 countries together, this is not something
03:41that you can achieve just like that.
03:43So, we have our methods and so we are going to defend our methods.
03:47Niklas, this is a proposal coming from the European Commission.
03:51Is it dead on arrival after all these debates we had?
03:56I agree with my colleague.
03:57I think that the initiative from the Commission is based on the principle of reciprocity.
04:03That means that we have to relate with China on a real basis and to demand from them the same
04:11treatment
04:12as we deliver to them.
04:13So far China has been taking selectively some norms of the World Trade Organization and disregarding other rules.
04:21From now on, I think that we have to keep with them a fair, transparent relationship based on reciprocity and
04:27nothing else.
04:28So, the Commission has taken a much more assertive stance towards China recently.
04:34Is this the way to go forward?
04:35There is no other way to go forward because, as I said before, it's a critical situation geopolitically
04:43where we also have a lot of new challenges to face.
04:48And if we don't find a solution or we won't deal with that now because some people and some would
04:55say that Europe has been naive so far.
04:58So, we had to start at it years ago just to find some kind of solutions in a way that
05:04we're not going to bring us in this difficult situation.
05:07So, it's the only way, I think. That's my opinion.
05:09Tough on China, the right way?
05:11Not tough on China, realistic on China.
05:13So far, we have been dealing with them in a way that it is not any more sustainable.
05:19As I said before, China is disregarding some rules of the World Trade Organization.
05:24They subscribe to it.
05:25But they select, pick up selectively what benefit them and disregard those who doesn't.
05:31China has to get used to deal with the European Union and all the international partners on a basis of
05:36reality and reciprocity.
05:37And what we are trying to do now is to send a clear message to China.
05:41We want to engage with you. We want not a dependency relation. We want a relation on the same footing.
05:47But please, be transparent. Please respect the international law.
05:51And don't use commerce and trade as a coercive weapon against anybody.
05:54The Chinese have said that Made in Europe is just a vehicle to reduce China's influence.
06:01I mean, they're right here, right?
06:03In a way. I mean, everybody's right from his own position, let's say.
06:07But the way they just manage to do things a little bit secretive and a little bit, you know, the
06:14way they just proceed the whole time is just a way that we cannot let it happen.
06:20As I said, we're not against China. We have to be clear.
06:25We want China as a partner. I'm not saying that we don't need China and China needs us.
06:30So a huge market. So China needs to also consider that if it loses us, then it's going to have
06:35problems also.
06:36Do we want another China?
06:38We don't want another. I mean, it's very difficult to say.
06:42China is exactly what it is.
06:44We have to adapt and they have to adapt both sides because reciprocity is the main thing.
06:50Well, adapting is a nice word, Nicolas, because it's ironic.
06:55The Chinese are accusing us of doing things, practices that China does at home or is promoting at home.
07:05For example, restricting access to key industries, limiting public procurement, pursuing aggressive industrial policies that support and finance strategic sectors.
07:17So why should we not hit back? The reality is that the access to the public procurement in China is
07:24nearly zero for European enterprises,
07:27because there are a lot of obstacles, a lot of restrictions, legal and non-legal.
07:31In addition to this, they use a kind of a state run economy in which they have a state run
07:36banks,
07:36which give financing to the enterprises at zero cost, zero financial cost, so that they can dump us out of
07:45the market.
07:46And once they have the monopoly of this product, they increase the prices.
07:49They have done it many times.
07:51Aluminium, steel, batteries, electric cars.
07:55They follow all the same pattern.
07:57They can have financing at privileged rates, obviously, because all the banks in China are a state run.
08:04It is the Communist Party who decide where the money goes to.
08:07And once they dump us out, because they can compete with lower prices,
08:11they increase the prices when they have the monopoly of the market.
08:14It cannot continue like that.
08:15So is that what we call de-risking?
08:17The risk, of course.
08:18I mean, we cannot depend on...
08:20We want to have a trade engagement with China, obviously, in a transparent manner,
08:26but not to depend on them in strategic inputs.
08:30And so far, we still depend on many sectors, mainly on rare earths, critical minerals, and so on and so
08:37forth.
08:38We should reduce this dependency in order to have a fair relationship.
08:43Doesn't de-risking mean also protectionism?
08:47I mean, we're dealing with a country here.
08:50I mean, we have to deal with a country where we need to play nice, but the country is not
08:54sharing our set of values.
08:56Isn't that the poor problem?
08:57Okay, that's a new era that everybody wants to rule the world in a way, I mean, as far as
09:03the trade is concerned.
09:05But it doesn't mean that we, Europe, has to let it happen the way that some countries want it.
09:12To protect your values, to protect your principles is not bad, because if you just let China do what it
09:19wants,
09:19then there's a huge possibility in the coming years that the cheap products are going to be affordable for the
09:26citizens of Europe,
09:27because they're not going to be jobs, they're not going to be industries in order to produce things.
09:32So we have to face it and we have to see, are we going to let it happen the way
09:37the Chinese want it,
09:38or are we going to enforce our industry so that the citizens, the European citizens are going to be able
09:43in the long run basis,
09:46be able to buy, produce and buy products from wherever they want.
09:50So if we, as Europeans, as a union, act as a sovereign bloc, the way China acts as a sovereign
09:58country,
10:00doesn't that make a trade war inevitable?
10:02Not at all. I think that once we are able to act united vis-à-vis China, we will have
10:10a better standard to deal with them.
10:15I mean, China is always trying to divide us. China prefers to deal with us on a bilateral basis.
10:20And it's fair. They try to get benefit dealing bilaterally with all of us.
10:25We have to offer a common, consensual strategy vis-à-vis China, which is not either offensive or defensive.
10:32It is fair. We ask for fairness.
10:35And to, I mean, we have to be clear, in China 30, 40 years ago, had no technology at all.
10:39I mean, we Europeans and the Americans, we have been exporting and transferring to them a lot of technology,
10:46because it was a request from them. You could not invest in China. You could not sell in China unless
10:51you transfer technology.
10:52And they have benefited from this transfer in order to compete with us, disregarding sometimes the WTO rules.
11:00All right. So let me stop you just here as we're getting warmed up right now.
11:10Now it's time for our viewers to get a real flavor of the European Parliament chamber, where members ask each
11:16other questions.
11:17And sometimes it can get heated. That means it's time for you guys to challenge each other directly, just as
11:25you do in the hemicycle behind us.
11:27So let's get started. Sakis, fire off.
11:31So I just wanted to ask, Michael, because EPP, I mean, says sometimes all the time, I mean, we have
11:37to enforce interest to which I agree.
11:39But I have the feeling that the citizens, the everyday citizens for EPP is not, you know, is not included
11:47the way that should.
11:48So if the market works so well, why the citizens, the European citizens are complaining still?
11:54Well, because I mean, because the market is working well when the participants in the market wants to play fair.
12:00The Chinese have not played fair so far. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.
12:05And the only request we demand from them is that they have to respect all the WTO rules and to
12:12deal with us on a fair basis.
12:13That is all. The market normally reassign or readjust the differences.
12:19But in this time, not because China is not a normal commercial partner.
12:25It is a state capitalism in which the Communist Party take decisions on its own that normally in our countries
12:32is taken by the market.
12:33This is the difference.
12:35Follow up, Sakis.
12:36And then what about the wages stagnated? And so there is no prospect that the wages are going to be
12:43to be a reason the way that you sometimes you say in the European Parliament
12:49that you are going to be able to raise wages in a way according to your plan.
12:54But I don't think that it's possible the way that geopolitically is what's going on at the moment.
12:58Well, I think that wages are dependent on the international markets.
13:04I mean, capitals, jobs and wages travel across the world.
13:09And it's very difficult to fix a wage in Europe which is not competitive vis-à-vis China, vis-à
13:14-vis the US.
13:15Nowadays, we have not to compete among ourselves in Europe, as used to be the case.
13:19Now we have to compete internationally very toughly with the US, with China and with other competitors.
13:25The wages will be the result of many factors, as you know.
13:28It's not a question for us Europeans to decide which is the perfect level of wage.
13:33The wage is the result of income, of technology, of the workforce training, of input, of the prices of the
13:41raw materials, of many things.
13:43But it's clear that in an international trade scenario, the competition will be much tougher than before.
13:50And the wages will reflect this reality.
13:53Okay, Nicolas. Carry on and ask Sakis a question.
13:56Well, I have a couple of them. I mean, to what extent can the guliness to engage in dialogue, as
14:04you say, with China, be interpreted as a lack of firmness in the face of unfair trade practices?
14:10You know, we always have to try. I mean, the dialogue must always be here, because otherwise misunderstandings can crop
14:17up in a way that cannot be reversible.
14:20So I think we have to stick on our values. I have to, I mean, I've been in contact with
14:26Chinese people and stuff, and they're also willing to understand.
14:29But we have to make clear that it's not that we have, we're targeting China.
14:35This is absolute, what we should do. We just want to protect our values within a dialogue that can bring
14:45us closer and closer for the benefits of our nations.
14:48Follow up? Yes. In the European Union, if the European Union does not respond with strong measures towards China, what
14:58alternatives do you propose to prevent the loss of competitiveness in key sectors such as electric vehicles, for instance?
15:05Yes, we've already tried it with Mercosur, for example, just to find some other markets.
15:10But we have to be very careful because EPP is a little bit too open to markets.
15:15But we have to also take into consideration that we have citizens, we have producers that might be affected by
15:23those openings to other markets.
15:25Yes, to opening to other markets, it's necessity, it's necessary, but not with every cost.
15:32All right. Well, we've heard the views from our guests. Now it's time to bring in a new voice.
15:42For our quote of the week, I would like to bring in Maro Sefkovic, the EU Commissioner for Trade and
15:48Economic Security.
15:49A few days ago, he told Euronews how he believes we should deal with China. Take a listen.
15:55Yes, we are not interested in any trade wars. And I made it clear from the day one and I
16:00engaged from the day one with our Chinese counterparts.
16:04I was in Beijing. We had a meeting with Vice Prime Minister Halifeng and I'm in regular contact with my
16:09counterpart.
16:09We cannot have a trade deficit of 1 billion euros a day. We cannot have a deficit of 360 billion
16:17a year.
16:18It's simply unsustainable. I think what we need is indeed strategic patience, lots of courage to deal with the difficult
16:25issues,
16:25because the war is easy to declare, but it's very difficult to stop.
16:30And therefore, I think what we need is to have regular structured talk also with China.
16:37I would say crystal clear about that we would fight a tooth and nail for every European job, for every
16:43European company,
16:44for every European sector, if we see that they are treated unfairly. That's our job.
16:48So, we need strategic patience and a lot of courage. Do you agree with him?
16:53Yes, I do. The point with China is that they have an overproduction, a yearly overproduction,
16:58and the commissioner has pointed out of around 600,000 million euros a year. Why?
17:04Because there is no domestic demand. Because they don't have a welfare state.
17:09Then the Chinese, they save much more than us, because they don't have any future sustained by any kind of
17:15subsidies coming from the state.
17:16Then they don't spend as much as they could. They save a lot. And that's why the national demand doesn't
17:22absorb the overcapacity of the China economy.
17:25And this overcapacity is sent abroad. And this imbalance, we have to correct.
17:29Sakis, where do you come down on this, hearing the commissioner?
17:33I think our viewers have to understand that patience, of course, is necessary.
17:38But on the other hand, we also, as we said, strategically, we have to go on.
17:43Europe has many benefits. But for me, the only mistake that Europe still is doing is to take decisions very
17:52slowly.
17:52And we need to just accelerate all this stuff. Because otherwise, I mean, United States and China matter.
17:59I mean, the decision making is so fast that we cannot follow up.
18:04So I think we need to accelerate everything in order just to cope up with all the situation globally.
18:09The commissioner also said that a trade deficit of 360 billion euros is unsustainable economically and politically.
18:18How can we prevent it from ballooning further? Is that even possible, Nicolas?
18:22Of course it is. I mean, they have to open their market, not only the private market, but the public
18:28procurement market that so far, as I said before, is nearly closed because of so many restrictions.
18:34Second, they have to play with the game with the same rules.
18:39They cannot have this kind of subsidized help and assistance to the enterprises to compete abroad.
18:46These subsidies have to disappear and they have to compete on the same level of fairness.
18:50And third, they have to not to overproduce things that they cannot consume at home and they have to sell
18:58abroad.
18:59I mean, it's a kind of many factors that we have to balance.
19:01And of course, we have to be more aggressive and more competitive in the Chinese market.
19:06Of course, it is possible if you invest in your industry and you just don't want to have your green
19:11transition only by importing products from abroad, especially from China.
19:16Then you, in the end, it's going to end up outsourcing jobs and having no jobs at all, but taking
19:24all the products, especially from China.
19:26This is going to be a huge imbalance. So we need to be very careful.
19:30And we can change the whole rhythm towards Europe.
19:34Of course, we have to invest in the right industry.
19:36Exactly.
19:37Okay. Lots of stuff to talk about here.
19:39Let's take a break on The Ring right now.
19:41We'll be back with more after this.
19:43Don't go away.
19:53Welcome back to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show from the European Parliament.
19:57I'm Stefan Grobe and I'm joined by Sakis Anautoglou, a socialist from Greece, and Nicolas Delaparte from the European People's
20:05Party from Spain.
20:07At this point, let's remind ourselves how big an economic power China is and how important our trade with that
20:14country is.
20:14So, China recorded a 1.2 trillion global trade surplus in 2025.
20:21The EU's trade deficit with China reached roughly 360 billion last year.
20:26China accounts for 560 billion euros in EU goods imports last year, making it the EU's largest import partner.
20:38And EU imports from China increased by 6.5% year on year in 2025.
20:43So, calls for rebalancing have for the most part gone unheard, right?
20:50Is that a debt concept, Sakis?
20:53You know, I mean, seeing all this, it's terrifying when you hear all these numbers because, actually, when I read
21:01it and one of the viewers see it, I mean, sometimes it's a huge imbalance in how we're supposed to
21:06cope up with it.
21:07But it is possible, and it is some kind of a way of bringing it back, taking the measures that
21:16we set. Otherwise, it's going to be huger the differences in the next couple of years.
21:24Niklas, to what extent is EU policy towards China being shaped by pressure from the United States? Because this is
21:33a player we cannot forget here.
21:35I think that we have to have our own autonomous foreign policy and trade policy. I would like to have
21:41a kind of common approach with the United States to go hand in hand vis-à-vis China.
21:45But we have to defend our own interests and our own identity features. Hopefully, with the United States, but we
21:53have, as I said, to keep our own approach.
21:56That means a couple of things. We have said before that what is the homework that the Chinese have to
22:01carry out. But we, on our side, we have also our homework to do.
22:05We have to be more competitive in many disruptive technologies in which there is a catching up need for the
22:10European Union, whether artificial intelligence, counting computing, robotics, the data on the cloud, biotechnology.
22:18It's not only to request the Chinese to trade fairly. It is also for us to be more competitive.
22:25We need to do our homework. Is that also signing the U.S. trade deal?
22:31We need to be very careful when voices like today's voice from the other part of the Atlantic, I mean,
22:40send different messages.
22:41OK. You know, Mr. Trump did one very good thing.
22:46It brought together the European countries more quickly than it happened before.
22:52So, I think it's a very nice lesson, and it's a huge opportunity just to take advantage of all this.
22:59Do you agree that Trump, I might say Putin as well, are kind of helping us to get unified?
23:07Yes, somehow both of them are external federators.
23:10And we, perhaps, should set up a monument to both of them because they are reinforcing the unity and the
23:16coherence of the European Union.
23:17That's where you talk about Trump. Be careful what you wish for.
23:19OK. No, that's the point. I think that, I mean, the European Union normally reacts before crisis in a way
23:26that it doesn't normally do.
23:28The point now is that, as my colleague has said, time is of the essence.
23:32We don't have too much time to react because things are happening at a pace, at a breakneck pace, and
23:38we have to react quickly.
23:40We have to set up a clear strategy towards China, which is not aggressive, which is not defensive.
23:47It is fair, and we have to demand from them something that we have to do here at home as
23:52well.
23:52Time is of the essence.
23:54Yes.
23:54And now it's time to move on to our fifth and final round.
24:02And now I want to do something different.
24:04I'm going to ask you a set of questions and you can only answer whether yes or no.
24:10All right.
24:10So I guess I start with you.
24:12Is access to the Chinese market still essential for Europe's economic growth?
24:16Yes.
24:18Yes, indeed.
24:18Okay.
24:20Were the EU's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles worth the risk of retaliation?
24:27Yes.
24:29Yes, indeed.
24:30But I think the Chinese need to understand that we're not focusing on targeting China.
24:36We just try to protect our values.
24:38Okay.
24:39Long yes.
24:40Would you buy a Chinese car if it's considerably cheaper than a European one?
24:46I would.
24:47I mean, I'm not saying no.
24:48But the thing is that because, you know, if you don't have the money, you have to do something.
24:54Okay.
24:54But on the other hand, yes, I would.
24:56Yes, you would.
24:57Nicolas.
24:58It depends on the quality, not only on the price.
25:00The quality for me is very important.
25:02And I think that European cars are better.
25:04All right.
25:04Are WTO mechanisms still effective?
25:08Yes and no, in a way.
25:10But we have to let's to reform some because there's some more.
25:14Some of them are old and, you know, things are changing very rapidly.
25:17Right now mechanisms are effective.
25:19Yes or no?
25:20Not entirely.
25:21Okay.
25:22Is the EU's new industrial policy compatible with open trade principles?
25:27Of course.
25:28That is one of our main objectives.
25:30Yes.
25:31Good.
25:32Indeed.
25:32Are bi-European measures a necessary correction?
25:40Yes, in a way.
25:43A definite maybe, but yes.
25:45Okay.
25:46Now, squeezed between Trump's America and China, should Europe become more protectionist?
25:52Not at all.
25:54No, we don't need to be protectionist, to bring protectionism.
25:59Stay open, but very careful.
26:01Okay.
26:02Can Europe realistically compete with China's state-backed industrial scale without similar
26:10subsidies?
26:11No.
26:12We cannot compete, but we have to force them to abide by the international rules.
26:18Not for us to disregard the international rules.
26:20Okay.
26:21Finally, was there anything over the last half hour that you agree with your opponent?
26:26Well, actually, we have agreed on many things most of the time, because we have a very sensitive
26:32approach.
26:33We expect from China fairness, reciprocity, and good governance in international trade.
26:40And we are ready to offer them the same.
26:42That's why we share very much our approach.
26:45I don't think that there is space for disagreement nowadays when we have something in common, just
26:51to protect and save our industry and our European citizens.
26:54So, for me, I have agreed also in many, many things with my colleague.
26:58Okay.
26:59So, we have a common ground here between the People's Party and the Socialists.
27:03Fantastic.
27:04Well, it's good for Europe.
27:05That's good for Europe.
27:06Right.
27:06And that final answer brings us to the end of this edition of The Ring.
27:11Thanks again to Sakis, Anna Autoglou, and Nicolas de la Parte for a lively conversation
27:16here from the European Parliament.
27:18Thanks to our audience at home.
27:20If you like, you can continue the conversation by sending us your comments to theringateuronews.com.
27:27That's it for today.
27:29I'm Stefan Grobe.
27:30Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
27:32Take care and see you soon.
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