French leader Emmanuel Macron told reporters that during his state visit to China, he threatened Beijing with tariffs if it did not reduce China's trade deficit with the EU.
Points of attention
- France's President emphasizes the urgent need for China to cooperate on global trade issues, geopolitics, and environmental sustainability to avoid detrimental consequences for all parties involved.
- The situation underscores the delicate position of the EU as a 'correction market' caught between conflicting interests, presenting a critical dilemma for the future of European industry.
What Macron wants from China
As reported by Les Echos, the French president, during a recent visit to China, called on Beijing to strengthen cooperation on issues of "unsustainable" global trade imbalances, geopolitics, and the environment.
Macron also wanted to explain to China that its trade surplus is unsustainable, because they are "killing" their own customers, primarily by stopping importing large volumes of goods from our countries.
I told them that if they do not react, we Europeans will be forced to take tough measures in the coming months, following the example of the US, such as imposing tariffs on Chinese goods.
Emmanuel Macron
President of France
He drew attention to the fact that the European Union's trade deficit with China has increased by almost 60% over the past 6 years.
Moreover, it is indicated that France's trade balance with the PRC also continues to grow.
Macron does not deny the fact that European industry is currently in a truly difficult situation.
Today we are caught between two fires, and it is a matter of life and death for European industry. We have become a correction market, and this is the worst-case scenario.
