BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will ask top officials to support a major crackdown on subsidized Chinese imports, setting the stage for a battle with EU countries that still want to protect their ties to Beijing.
EU commissioners will meet on Friday to debate the future of the bloc’s relations with Beijing, as national governments led by France demand action to protect their industries in the face of hostile trading practices, while others like export powerhouse Germany counsel caution, fearful that they could lose access to the vast Chinese market.
The orientation debate comes after officials were asked to draft plans for new powers to tackle low-cost goods flooding into the single market. The EU’s goods trade deficit with China widened to €360 billion last year from €312 billion in 2024. It expanded even more sharply in the first quarter of 2026, trade figures show.
Von der Leyen and her chief of staff Björn Seibert are advocating a much tougher approach toward Beijing, capitalizing on economic woes to win the argument, three officials with knowledge of the internal dynamics told POLITICO. They were granted anonymity to speak frankly.
“The debate of today should confirm the growing consensus in Europe about the necessity to act on the China Shock 2.0,” EU industry chief Stéphane Séjourné told POLITICO.
“I think there is still a road to have a constructive dialogue with China, but we can’t let Europe be the victim of a predatory strategy that is destroying our industry. New tools, new measures, new political will are needed.”
After getting input from her commissioners, von der Leyen will meet with fellow leaders at a G7 summit in France on June 15 to discuss surplus Chinese production of goods that are swamping export markets and Beijing’s restrictions on the supply of critical raw materials. She will then seek the backing of presidents and prime ministers at a European Council that begins June 18 in Brussels.
According to two other officials, no written proposals will be drawn up from the discussions at that stage, instead giving the Commission time to refine its proposals further. Specific measures could be presented as soon as von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union address in September.
Von der Leyen would have wanted to get tougher on China far earlier, according to Tim Rühlig, a senior analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies who previously advised the Commission on relations with Beijing.
“She really has had to push this forward,” said Rühlig, adding that von der Leyen had seen “the economy-security nexus much earlier than other national politicians.”