🔶 Macron’s repeated warning about Europe’s growing industrial dependence on China

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, called for strengthening measures to defend European trade and increase investment, warning that dependence on China and fossil fuels threatens the continent’s competitiveness.

Macron, speaking in Spain on Wednesday, September 30 (8 Mehr), called on Europe to bolster innovation, simplify regulations, increase financing, and protect industrial producers against unfair competition.

In another part of his remarks, the French president said: «China has completely saturated the European market. For decades we told ourselves: Great, China is a huge market for us Europeans. We need China. That’s true. We transferred a lot of technology, sold a lot, and we still do it, to some extent.»

At the same time, while accusing China of «providing heavy subsidies to companies and engaging in dumping to eliminate competitors,» he said: «Today, right now as we speak, we Europeans have a trade deficit with China of one billion euros every day.»

Macron went on to call for speeding up investigations by the European Commission, strengthening trade-defense tools, and imposing requirements to ensure that imported goods meet the same standards that are imposed on European producers. Referring to the issue of energy, he also warned that decarbonization «has not eliminated Europe’s vulnerabilities».