The first meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism was recently held in Brussels, where the two sides issued a joint statement agreeing that China and the EU are each other's stable, balanced and key trading partners.
Amid rising global protectionism and profound shifts in the global economic landscape, China and the EU have once again demonstrated that deeper cooperation and equal-footed consultation remain the most effective way to resolve trade frictions and ensure the stability of bilateral economic ties.
The mechanism has identified four priorities for cooperation: trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property rights protection and WTO reform. These areas reflect the key concerns of both sides.
China and the EU also agreed to establish a joint monitoring mechanism to exchange trade data, track trade flows and carry out related technical work. These constructive arrangements for addressing differences and managing disagreements mark an important step toward establishing a regular, institutional framework for China-EU trade consultations.
In recent years, protectionist tendencies have spread in parts of the EU. Some politicians have repeatedly promoted unfounded narratives about an alleged "China-EU trade imbalance," "industrial overcapacity" and "unfair competition," while peddling misleading claims such as "China Shock 2.0."
These claims have been used to justify a series of restrictive trade measures that have created unnecessary obstacles to normal China-EU economic and trade cooperation. At their core, such actions reflect both a misunderstanding of the nature of China-EU economic relations and an inability to address the EU's own structural challenges.
Misperceptions should be corrected with facts, while structural problems must be addressed at their source.
Take the frequently cited allegation of "overcapacity" as an example. Much of the EU's criticism rests solely on its merchandise trade deficit with China while overlooking its substantial surplus in services trade. According to Chinese statistics, the EU recorded a services trade surplus of $48.3 billion with China in 2025. When both goods and services are considered, the overall trade imbalance narrows significantly.
The challenges facing certain European industries stem primarily from internal structural factors, including persistently high energy costs, inconsistent industrial policies and insufficient innovation.
Resorting to protectionist barriers instead of strengthening industrial competitiveness is ultimately self-defeating. It not only delays necessary industrial upgrading but also risks compounding structural weaknesses, to the detriment of European consumers and Europe's long-term growth prospects.
Market performance speaks louder than rhetoric. The current structure of China-EU trade largely reflects decisions made independently by businesses based on cost, efficiency, market demand and supply chain resilience.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, sales of Chinese-brand vehicles in Europe reached 138,400 units in May this year, up 65 percent year on year. This robust growth is fundamentally the result of market recognition and the rising competitiveness of China's manufacturing sector, rather than alleged unfair competition.
Many forward-looking voices in Europe have already pointed out that protectionist measures such as tariffs will not make Europe more competitive. Instead, they merely postpone the transformation and upgrading that European industries themselves need to undertake.
China is never the source of Europe's challenges; it is a partner in addressing them. China has consistently approached dialogue with the greatest sincerity and remains committed to resolving differences through consultation. At the same time, it will firmly safeguard its legitimate industrial and trade interests.
China has repeatedly emphasized that the essence of China-EU economic and trade relations lies in complementarity and mutual benefit. Such a relationship should, and can, achieve a dynamic balance through continued development.
The two sides are each other's second-largest trading partners. In 2025, bilateral merchandise trade reached $828.1 billion, while two-way investment stock exceeded $280 billion. From automobiles and new energy to biomedicine and machinery manufacturing, the industrial and supply chains of China and the EU have become deeply integrated and highly complementary, with intertwined markets and shared interests.
As Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, observed, China has long been more than simply a profitable market for European companies; it has become an indispensable part of global supply chains. For European businesses, maintaining competitiveness depends on participating in the global division of labor and international cooperation, rather than artificially fragmenting industrial and supply chains.
As two major global economies and core markets, China and the EU share a relationship whose stability carries significance far beyond the bilateral level.
Together, the two economies account for more than one-third of global economic output, while their bilateral trade represents nearly a quarter of global trade, making an important contribution to global economic growth.
China-Europe freight trains have completed more than 130,000 trips, transporting goods worth more than $520 billion. They have become not only a major logistics corridor connecting Asia and Europe but also an important pillar supporting the stability of global industrial and supply chains and improving livelihoods along their routes.
At a time when unilateralism and protectionism continue to disrupt the international trading system and WTO reform has reached a critical stage, China and the EU share broad common interests and enormous opportunities for cooperation in areas including climate governance, digital trade and global development, all of which affect the common interests of humanity.
With the consultation mechanism officially launched, the true test lies in concrete actions by both sides.
As comprehensive strategic partners, China and the EU should uphold the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and work together to ensure the long-term, steady development of bilateral economic and trade relations.
Doing so will benefit businesses and people on both sides while contributing to international fairness and justice, safeguarding the global trading system and promoting lasting peace, stability and prosperity around the world.