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The Chinese will “not win” from a foreign trade policy that jeopardises Europe’s industry and market, the French Minister for Foreign Trade Nicolas Forissier has told Euronews, as the EU executive mulls a clampdown on a glut of cheap Chinese imports.
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“The Chinese have to understand that they won’t win anything if they destroy the European industry and then the European market, which is an essential market for them,” Forissier told Euronews’ 12 Minutes With interview programme on Friday.
“We must no longer be naive,” Forissier added, saying that there is a “change of minds” in the approach towards not only China, but all countries which weaponise commercial dependencies. “It’s not a matter of China or not. It’s not only China, it is all the countries.”
His comments come ahead of a highly-anticipated “orientation debate” among European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s team next Friday, where a range of tools to shield the bloc from a glut of cheap Chinese imports will be under discussion.
The conversation could continue when the EU’s 27 leaders gather in Brussels in mid-June.
Among the options on the table are plans to cut EU companies’ reliance on foreign manufacturers by obliging them to source components from at least three different suppliers. Asked whether this was a policy the EU should introduce, Forissier said: “Yes, we have to.”
The bloc could also consider targeting strategic sectors, such as chemicals, with extra tariffs, or using anti-dumping or anti-subsidy duties to correct import prices that fall below those at which the products are sold on the Chinese market.
China has already warned of retaliation if the EU introduces curbs on Chinese imports.
The EU’s goods trade deficit with China reached a whopping €359.3 billion in 2025, up by almost a fifth from the previous year.
France has long called for more targeted measures to shield Europe’s economy from aggressive trade practices coming from world powers, notably China, which include heavy-handed state subsidies, industrial overcapacities and restrictions on the export of critical raw materials.
Forissier stressed the importance of “frank” dialogue with Beijing and stressed that France has a “special relationship” with China that requires “negotiations” and “respect”.
“We try to respect the Chinese. The Chinese have to respect us and this is the message European institutions have to send.”
You can watch the full interview with France’s Foreign Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier on Tuesday, 26 May, at 15.15 CET.
