European Commission President's speech on EU-China relations: Carefully assess and discuss new tools with business

30 March 2023 - Commenting on today’s speech of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on EU-China relations, BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: "Any new tools that can have a significant impact on EU-China trade or investment flows need to be carefully assessed and discussed with business."

"We recognise the complexity and challenges of EU-China relations. Decoupling is not a solution to address the problems such as asymmetries in market access and the increasing politicisation of China’s economy. The EU must engage with China in areas of common interest like climate change and standardisation.

At the same time, the EU needs to build more resilient supply chains and mitigate risk. Any new tools that can have a significant impact on EU-China trade or investment flows, in particular on outbound investment, need to be carefully assessed, and discussed with business."