Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced on the 6th (local time) that she would urge Xi Jinping, President of China, who is visiting France, to ensure fair competition, AFP reported. The President of the European Commission is the head of the executive branch of the European Union (EU).
Before holding talks with President Xi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on the same day, President von der Leyen said, "We must act to ensure that competition is fair and not distorted." President Xi began his six-day European tour on the 5th with a state visit to France, followed by visits to Serbia, Hungary, and other countries.
The situation appears to be a showdown with pointed remarks ahead of the meeting. President von der Leyen added that when she previously met with President Xi, she "made it clear that the current imbalances in market access cannot continue and need to be resolved."
In recent months, the European Commission has launched multiple investigations targeting China over unfair competition and trade-related issues. Ahead of President Xi's European tour, the Commission announced on the 24th of last month that it had initiated a formal investigation under EU international procurement rules into China's medical device sector.
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strongly reacted to the EU's recent trade measures, calling them "a signal of protectionism," stating, "The target is Chinese companies, and the image being damaged is that of the EU." In April 2023, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (left), met with Xi Jinping, President of China, in Beijing, China.
On the same day, President von der Leyen said, "We are very clear-eyed about our relationship with China," adding that the relationship between the two sides is one of the most complex yet most important.
President von der Leyen raised the issue of China's overproduction, emphasizing repeatedly that Chinese goods enter the EU at prices too low for domestic companies to compete.
She said, "China is producing more than it sells due to weak domestic demand and is providing massive subsidies," adding, "This leads to unfair trade caused by the oversupply of subsidized Chinese products such as electric vehicles and steel." She emphasized, "Europe cannot accept such market-distorting practices that could lead to deindustrialization within the EU," and stressed, "We will urge the Chinese government to resolve this overproduction issue in the short term."
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