China’s ‘predatory’ market practices threaten survival of Europe’s industrial base: Report

New Delhi: The ‘systemic and persistent market-distorting practices’ of China have apparently threatened the survival of Europe’s industrial base, according to a new report.

Brussels Signal reports that China is not a benevolent trading partner, but a “predatory superpower using massive State subsidies, currency manipulation and raw material monopolies to destroy European manufacturing”.

The report further stated that French and German leaders are now calling for “sector-wide anti-dumping investigations” targeting Chinese electric vehicles, chemicals and machine tools.

They are also demanding powers to curb Europe’s critical dependence on Chinese supply chains.

“German industrial giants are now cutting tens of thousands of jobs, European auto manufacturers are shutting down domestic assembly lines and critical supply chains have been completely outsourced to an authoritarian rival,” said the report.

However, the proposed EU “rapid-response” mechanism is inherently flawed because it relies on the very institution that created the crisis -- The European Commission, it added.

“Even if Brussels manages to push the button, Beijing holds the real levers of power,” the report argued.

From rare earths to semiconductor-grade gases, China controls the critical inputs Europe needs to function.

In such a scenario, any aggressive tariff war may hit European consumers, and remaining factories far harder than it will affect Beijing, said the report.

According to a recent article in Eurasia News, Britain has taken the lead among European countries in starting the process of breaking free from dependence on China with a diversification of trade and investment ties with other countries such as India.

The European Union’s heavy reliance on China for goods and raw materials creates several long-lasting issues that go beyond the displayed trade imbalance.

Policymakers consistently worry that so much dependence undermines European strategic autonomy.

The UK’s China playbook offers a template the rest of Europe would do well to follow.

India looks like the natural partner to build it around. Europe’s exposure to China remains far deeper than Britain’s in electronics, solar components, pharmaceuticals, and rare earths, said the report.

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