EU–China Relations Enter Confrontation Phase After New Sanctions Clash

Brussels is unable to build relations with any of the great powers. Relations between the EU and China have entered a phase of open confrontation.

Photo: flickr.com by European Parliament, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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The European Union Runs Into Critical Chinese Sanctions

On April 23, Brussels approved its 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which for the first time included 16 major Chinese companies "for supplying dual-use goods and components to the Russian defense industry.”

Within 24 hours, China's Ministry of Commerce added seven European defense enterprises to its export control list. These companies are now prohibited from importing dual-use goods from China. Among them are FN Herstal and FN Browning (Belgium), Hensoldt AG (Germany), Excalibur Army, Omnipol, SpaceKnow, and the Czech Aviation Research Institute (Czech Republic). This comes despite the fact that representatives of the European defense industry and Ukrainian drone manufacturers in April described dependence on Chinese components (motors, controllers, communication modules) as a "huge risk to supply security.”

China also supplies the EU with the lion's share of metals required for the production of electronics and ammunition. Official Beijing has made it clear that it could restrict supplies of rare earth magnets and minerals to EU factories, on which both the European defense industry and the transition to green energy depend.

Finland Will Block Duty-Free Trade with China

But the European Union does not stop in its efforts to harm itself. Today, Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen declared China's support for Russia a "disqualifying factor” for a trade agreement between the EU and China. According to Valtonen, Beijing's support violates the principles of the UN Charter, which is unacceptable for the European Union.

"Either China will stop military support for Russia, or we will block the trade agreement (with the EU),” she said.

Finland's position effectively means a veto right. And this is despite the fact that the agreement was presented as a "tool for growth,” while Finland is now destroying its own economy — especially in tourism and trade with Russia.

Europe Sliding Into Vassal Dependence

French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that Europe has found itself in a unique historical situation, where the leaders of three world powers — Russia, China, and the United States — are effectively "aligned against” European interests. According to him, the United States is focused on its domestic market and confrontation with China, pushing Europe's interests into the background. Beijing is accused of "unfair competition” and excessive subsidization of its industries (electric vehicles, clean technologies), which undermines European industry. Russia, meanwhile, is regarded as an existential threat, forcing Europe to urgently shift its economy onto a "war footing.”

Macron calls on EU countries for a "strategic awakening” and autonomy — namely, to build their own defense system, introduce protective tariffs, and issue common "future eurobonds” (shared debt) in order not to become a "vassal” of other powers.

But time has been critically lost. In the drivers of the future (artificial intelligence, chip manufacturing, quantum computing), the EU is already years behind the United States and China. The EU's share of global GDP over the past 30 years has almost halved (from more than 25% to about 14%). Decades of underfunding of armies have created a situation where European security without the American "umbrella” and intelligence is impossible. The creation of a fully autonomous army will take 10-15 years, at best. Macron's ideas about "eurobonds” face strong resistance from "frugal” countries (Germany, the Netherlands).

While the EU searches for consensus, competitors are not standing still. With a huge trade deficit (almost €360 billion in 2025), as well as a budget deficit (3.1% of GDP) and GDP growth of only about 1.5%, the EU does not have the resources for a breakthrough and will end up fragmenting into several smaller unions that will seek situational partners — including Russia.