- 3 hours ago
Πώς να αποφύγετε έναν εμπορικό πόλεμο με την Κίνα;
Διαφαίνεται ένας εμπορικός πόλεμος με την Κίνα; Σε αυτή την έκδοση της εβδομαδιαίας εκπομπής συζήτησης The Ring, ο Σάκης Αρναούτογλου (S&D) και ο Nicolás de la Parte (ΕΛΚ) συζητούν αυτό που θα μπορούσε να είναι ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά θέματα στην πολιτική ατζέντα της ΕΕ.
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ : http://gr.euronews.com/2026/05/07/pws-na-apofygete-enan-emporiko-polemo-me-thn-kina
Γίνε συνδρομητής! ! Το euronews είναι διαθέσιμο σε 12 γλώσσες
Διαφαίνεται ένας εμπορικός πόλεμος με την Κίνα; Σε αυτή την έκδοση της εβδομαδιαίας εκπομπής συζήτησης The Ring, ο Σάκης Αρναούτογλου (S&D) και ο Nicolás de la Parte (ΕΛΚ) συζητούν αυτό που θα μπορούσε να είναι ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά θέματα στην πολιτική ατζέντα της ΕΕ.
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ : http://gr.euronews.com/2026/05/07/pws-na-apofygete-enan-emporiko-polemo-me-thn-kina
Γίνε συνδρομητής! ! Το euronews είναι διαθέσιμο σε 12 γλώσσες
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NewsTranscript
00:00Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:30Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
01:00The initiative, which aims to bolsters Europe's industrial capacity, was met with criticism
01:05by China's commerce ministry, who affirmed that if the EU, quote, insists on this punishment
01:10and treats China's enterprises in a discriminatory manner, Beijing would respond with countermeasures.
01:17In other words, retaliation.
01:19While Europe is trying to navigate a world of aggressive tariffs by Trump's administration,
01:23is it heading toward a full-scale trade conflict with China, or can it still strike a balance
01:28between protection and cooperation?
01:32A lot to unpack here for our contenders, and here they are.
01:39Sakis Arnautoglou, 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
01:47European Parliament.
01:48Advocating a pragmatic approach to global tensions, he cautions against escalation and
01:53said,
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
02:22driven by Beijing, stating,
02:24China's export restrictions are an escalation of the weaponization of trade policies.
02:28We 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 Arnautoglou 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?
03:15Of 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 that we have to
03:28answer back,
03:29because otherwise we're not going to be able just to defend our industry and defend what we actually have reached
03:35so far.
03:36This prosperity that the European Union has, 27 countries together, this is not something that you can achieve just like
03:43that.
03:43So, we have our methods and so we're 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, I think that the initial, the initiative from the Commission is based on the principle
04:02of reciprocity.
04:03That means that we have to relate with China on a real basis and to demand from them the same
04:11treatment as 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?
04:36There is no other way to go forward, because, as I said before, and it's a critical situation geopolitically where
04:43we also have a lot of new challenges to face.
04:47And 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 a solution in a way
05:04that we'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.
05:23They subscribe to it, but they select, pick up selectively what benefit them and disregard those who doesn't.
05:30China has to get used to deal with the European Union and with other 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.
05:42We want not a dependency relation.
05:45We want a relation on the same footing.
05:47But please, be transparent.
05:49Please, respect the international law.
05:51And don't use commerce and trade as a coercive weapon against anybody.
05:55The 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.
06:08But 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.
06:24We have to be clear.
06:25We want China as a partner.
06:27I'm not saying that we don't need China.
06:29And China needs us.
06:30So we're a huge market, so China needs also to consider that if it loses us, then it's going to
06:34have problems also.
06:36Do we want another China?
06:38We don't want another.
06:41I 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.
06:50Adapting 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.
07:16So why should we not hit back?
07:20The reality is that the access to the public procurement in China is nearly zero for European enterprises because there
07:27are a lot of obstacles, a lot of restrictions, legal and non-legal.
07:30In addition to this, they use a kind of a state-run economy in which they have a state-run
07:36banks which give financing to the enterprises at zero cost, zero financial cost, so that they can dump us out
07:45of the 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 of the same pattern.
07:57They can have financing at privileged rates, obviously, because all the banks in China are a state-run.
08:03It 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, they increase the prices when they have
08:13the monopoly of the market.
08:14It cannot continue like that.
08:15So is that what we call de-risking?
08:17De-risking, of course.
08:18I mean, we cannot depend on, we 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, on them, many on rare earths, critical minerals, and so on
08:37and so forth.
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, but it doesn't mean that we, Europe, has to let it happen the way that some
09:10countries want it.
09:11But to protect your values, to protect your principles is not bad, because if you just let China do what
09:18it wants, then there's a huge possibility in the coming years that the cheap products are going to be affordable
09:26for the citizens 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, or are we going to enforce our industry so that the citizens,
09:42the European citizens are going to be able in the long run basis, be able to buy, produce and buy
09:48products from wherever they want.
09:49So if we, as Europeans, as a union, act as a sovereign bloc, the way China acts as a sovereign
09:58country, doesn'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.
10:14I 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. I mean, we have to be clear.
10:36I mean, 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.
10:49You could not sell in China unless you 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.
11:20That means it's time for you guys to challenge each other directly, just as you do in the hemicycle behind
11:27us.
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?
11:53No, 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.
12:03Sometimes 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.
12:14The market normally reassign or readjust the differences.
12:20But in this time, not because China is not a normal commercial partner.
12:26It 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.
12:36Sakis.
12:36And then what about the wages are stagnated?
12:39And so there is no prospect that the wages are going to be a reason the way that you sometimes,
12:47you 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 U.S.
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 U.S., with China and with other competitors.
13:24The 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.
13:59I mean, to what extent can the gulliness to engage in dialogue, as you say, with China,
14:05be interpreted as a lack of firmness in the face of unfair trade practices?
14:10You know, we always have to try.
14:12I mean, the dialogue must always be here.
14:14Because otherwise, misunderstandings can crop up in a way that cannot be reversible.
14:20So I think we have to stick on our values.
14:23I have to, I mean, I've been in contact with Chinese people and stuff.
14:27And they're also willing to understand.
14:29But we have to make clear that it's not that we have, we're targeting China.
14:36This is absolute, what we should do.
14:39We just want to protect our values in, within a dialogue that can bring us closer and closer for the
14:47benefits of our nations.
14:48Follow-up?
14:50Yes.
14:50In the European Union, if the European Union does not respond with strong measures towards China,
14:57what alternatives do you propose to prevent the loss of competitiveness in key sectors, such as electric vehicles, for instance?
15:05Yes, we've already been trying 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.
15:36Now 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.
15:54Take a listen.
15:55We are not interested in any trade wars, and I made it clear from the day one,
16:00and I engaged from the day one with our Chinese counterparts.
16:04I was in Beijing.
16:05We had a meeting with Vice Prime Minister Helifeng, and I'm in regular contact with my counterpart.
16:10We cannot have a trade deficit of 1 billion euros a day.
16:14We cannot have a deficit of 360 billion a year.
16:18It's simply unsustainable.
16:19I think what we need is indeed strategic patience, lots of courage to deal with the difficult issues,
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.
16:36I would say crystal clear about that we would fight a tooth and nail for every European job,
16:42for every European company, for every European sector, if we see that they are treated unfairly.
16:47That's our job.
16:48So, we need strategic patience and a lot of courage.
16:52Do you agree with him?
16:53Yes, I do.
16:54The 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.
17:04Why?
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,
17:11because they don't have any future sustained by any kind of subsidies coming from the state.
17:17Then they don't spend as much as they could.
17:19They save a lot.
17:20And that's why the national demand doesn't absorb 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.
17:42Europe has very many benefits, but for me, it's the only mistake that Europe still is doing is to take
17:51decisions very slowly.
17:53And we need to just accelerate all this stuff, because otherwise, I mean, United States and China, that 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.
18:10The 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?
18:20Is that even possible, Icolas?
18:22Of course it is.
18:24I mean, they have to open their market, not only the private market, but the public procurement market that so
18:30far, as I've said before, is nearly closed because of so many restrictions.
18:34Second, they have to play 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, are 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.
19:28So we need to be very careful.
19:30And we can change the whole rhythm towards...
19:34Because 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.
19:58I'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.
20:06At 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.
20:27China accounts for 560 billion euros in EU goods imports last year, making it the EU's largest import partner.
20:37And EU imports from China increased by 6.5% year-on-year in 2025.
20:44So, 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.
21:17Otherwise, 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?
21:32Because this is a player we cannot forget here.
21:35I think that we have to have our own autonomous foreign policy and trade policy.
21:40I would like to have a kind of common approach with the United States to go hand-in-hand vis
21:45-à-vis China.
21:45But we have to defend our own interests and our own identity features.
21:51Hopefully, with the United States, but we have, as I said, to keep our own approach.
21:56That means a couple of things.
21:58We have said before that what is the homework that the Chinese have to carry out.
22:01But we, on our side, we have also our homework to do.
22:04We have to be more competitive in many disruptive technologies in which there is a catching-up need for the
22:10European Union,
22:11whether artificial intelligence, counting computing, robotics, the data on the cloud, biotechnology.
22:19It's not only to request the Chinese to trade fairly.
22:22It is also for us to be more competitive.
22:25We need to do our homework.
22:27Yeah.
22:27Is 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.
22:41Okay.
22:42You 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.
22:58Do you agree that Trump, I might say Putin as well, are kind of helping us to get unified on
23:07trade?
23:07Yes, somehow both of them are external federators, and we perhaps should set up a monument to both of them
23:13because they are reinforcing the unity and the coherence of the European Union.
23:17That's where you talk about Trump.
23:18Be careful what you wish for.
23:19No, that's the point.
23:21I think that, I mean, the European Union normally reacts before crisis in a way that 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, and 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?
24:10Zakiz, I start with you.
24:12Is access to the Chinese market still essential for Europe's economic growth?
24:16Yes.
24:18Yes, indeed.
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, but the thing is that because, you know, if you don't have the money,
24:52you 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, but we have to let us to reform some, because some of them are
25:14old and, you know, things are changing very rapidly.
25:17Right now, mechanisms are effective, yes 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?
25:41Yes, in a way.
25:43A definite may be, 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 subsidies?
26:11No.
26:12We cannot compete, but we have to force them to abide by the international rules, not for us to disregard
26:19the 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 approach.
26:33We expect from China fairness, reciprocity, and good manners 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 to protect and
26:52save our industry and our European citizens.
26:55So, for me, I've 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 here 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.
27:36Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
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