European Union officials are looking to extend trade talks with China beyond vehicles as the bloc weighs its €359.8 billion goods deficit and the risk of job losses in threatened industries.
Eurostat reported that EU imports from China totaled €559.4 billion in 2025, compared with €199.6 billion in exports. In the second quarter of 2026, imports were €153.6 billion and exports were €50.3 billion, leaving a €103.3 billion gap by subtraction. Eurostat rounded the quarterly deficit to €103 billion and said it was the largest since the third quarter of 2022, when it was €107 billion.
At a meeting in Dublin on Friday, Oct. 23, EU trade ministers discussed possible deals to curb imports in chemicals, machinery and pharmaceuticals, Reuters reported. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told Euronews that European leaders feared heavy job losses in sectors they consider under threat.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the trade imbalance structural. The Commission points to unequal market access and industrial policies as concerns. Von der Leyen has also said the vehicle understanding alone would not resolve the wider imbalance.
The Commission said talks in Beijing on Oct. 8-9 between Šefčovič and China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao produced understandings on hybrid vehicles, access for some EU exports to China, and export licensing for rare earths and permanent magnets. The hybrid-vehicle understanding was one outcome of the Beijing meetings. Šefčovič estimated that Chinese hybrid and plug-in hybrid exports to the EU could end up more than 50% below a four-year projection assuming no policy change.
Von der Leyen said on Oct. 16 that the Commission plans to present its DiversifyEU initiative and propose a Solidarity Mechanism in December. She also announced work on an instrument that could limit access to the EU single market in certain circumstances. A Commission spokesperson said on Oct. 19 that the instrument had no set timetable and it was not yet decided whether it would be part of the December package.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Oct. 12 that it retained its options under World Trade Organization rules, including pursuing dispute settlement or seeking trade compensation over the vehicle understanding.
The next ministerial video call between the EU and China is planned for January 2027, ahead of a third ministerial consultation in March 2027.
