After a tender visit to China, he suddenly "turned away". The French president said that h
- Author:weiyun.com
- Source:weiyun.com
- Release Date:2025-12-10
On December 5, French President Macron’s special plane left Chinese airspace and concluded his three-day visit to China.
During his visit to China, Macron signed a number of agreements with China, covering political, economic, strategic and cultural fields, enhancing collaboration between the two countries on global issues.
In less than 48 hours, in an exclusive interview with Les Echos in Paris, he threatened China with tariffs in a tough stance: "If China does not resolve the trade deficit between the two countries, the EU will have to take severe measures and even follow the example of the United States in imposing tariffs on Chinese goods."
Regarding the trade deficit between China and the EU, according to Chinese customs data, in the first 11 months of 2025, the EU's trade deficit with China has reached US$266.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%.
Macron believes that this imbalance "is killing European customers." Chinese products have swept the European market with strong competitiveness, putting French manufacturing under tremendous pressure. However, the core categories that France can export to China are still limited to traditional goods, and high value-added industrial products have outstanding shortcomings.
It is understood that Macron’s threat this time has actually been clearly targeted.
German Handelsblatt pointed out that the EU is planning to impose high tariffs of 25% to 50% on Chinese steel and related products, a significant increase from the previous 25% tax rate.
It is worth mentioning that a former senior EU official said that the EU is preparing for 20 anti-dumping investigations targeting China in multiple fields, covering key chemical raw materials, photovoltaic modules, inverters and other Chinese advantageous industries.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce also emphasized that "trade rebalancing requires two-way openness, and 'risk removal' cannot become 'decooperation.' The China-EU trade agreement covers all issues of concern to the EU. It is the EU that has shelved the ratification process."
On the day of Macron's speech, German Foreign Minister Waldfurt had already set off for a visit to China, paving the way for Prime Minister Mertz's follow-up trip. His actions were in sharp contrast to France.
Countries friendly to China, such as Hungary and Greece, have also made it clear that they may veto tax increase proposals. EU trade policies require the unanimous consent of all member states, which may make it difficult to implement tariff threats.
During his visit to China, Macron signed a number of agreements with China, covering political, economic, strategic and cultural fields, enhancing collaboration between the two countries on global issues.
In less than 48 hours, in an exclusive interview with Les Echos in Paris, he threatened China with tariffs in a tough stance: "If China does not resolve the trade deficit between the two countries, the EU will have to take severe measures and even follow the example of the United States in imposing tariffs on Chinese goods."
Regarding the trade deficit between China and the EU, according to Chinese customs data, in the first 11 months of 2025, the EU's trade deficit with China has reached US$266.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%.
Macron believes that this imbalance "is killing European customers." Chinese products have swept the European market with strong competitiveness, putting French manufacturing under tremendous pressure. However, the core categories that France can export to China are still limited to traditional goods, and high value-added industrial products have outstanding shortcomings.
It is understood that Macron’s threat this time has actually been clearly targeted.
German Handelsblatt pointed out that the EU is planning to impose high tariffs of 25% to 50% on Chinese steel and related products, a significant increase from the previous 25% tax rate.
It is worth mentioning that a former senior EU official said that the EU is preparing for 20 anti-dumping investigations targeting China in multiple fields, covering key chemical raw materials, photovoltaic modules, inverters and other Chinese advantageous industries.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce also emphasized that "trade rebalancing requires two-way openness, and 'risk removal' cannot become 'decooperation.' The China-EU trade agreement covers all issues of concern to the EU. It is the EU that has shelved the ratification process."
On the day of Macron's speech, German Foreign Minister Waldfurt had already set off for a visit to China, paving the way for Prime Minister Mertz's follow-up trip. His actions were in sharp contrast to France.
Countries friendly to China, such as Hungary and Greece, have also made it clear that they may veto tax increase proposals. EU trade policies require the unanimous consent of all member states, which may make it difficult to implement tariff threats.