After Wang Yi's Nordic Visit, China Proposes Easing China-EU Trade Tensions
Alina Collins
Following Wang Yi's rare visit to four Nordic countries, Beijing formally pitched an 'upward rebalancing' of trade — refusing to cut exports but asking the EU to lift restrictions on high-value sales to China. October has been set as the negotiation deadline.
What does "upward rebalancing" actually mean?
Beijing's core position: don't shrink Chinese exports — grow European exports to China instead, closing the gap by adding volume, not subtracting it.
This means → China rejected the EU's pressure to sell less and countered with an offer to buy more — but only if the EU eases restrictions on high-value products like advanced equipment and technology.
In plain terms = the two sides haven't agreed on who gives ground. The EU wants China to export less; China wants the EU to open its doors wider.
Why did Wang Yi visit the Nordics?
The trip covered Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway — the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Denmark in roughly 15 years and to Sweden in over 20 years.
This reflects Beijing's strategy of finding receptive voices inside the EU: the Nordic states are open economies with relatively pro-trade stances, yet they also take security seriously — making them useful interlocutors in China's view.
Norway is not an EU member but enjoys single-market access through the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.
A €360 billion deficit — how long can the EU absorb it?
The EU's trade deficit with China now exceeds €360 billion (roughly $411 billion); member states broadly agree the situation is serious.
Yet the political will to confront Beijing head-on is lacking. After visiting Beijing last December, Macron described European industry's position as "existential" — language rarely heard from a sitting French president.
This means → the EU has consensus on *severity* but not on *action* — and that gap is exactly the window Beijing's diplomatic push is targeting.
Could export controls backfire on Europe?
ASML is the most visible example of EU curbs on technology exports to China, aimed at preventing know-how transfer.
Wang Yiwei, a former Chinese diplomat to Europe and professor at Renmin University, argued that such controls may accelerate China's domestic R&D — and ultimately widen the EU's trade deficit further. The tighter the restrictions, the faster China substitutes.
He sees the real path forward in cooperation on services trade, intellectual property, and European standards and rules — not in restricting goods flows alone.
Can the October deadline deliver results?
Commerce Minister Wang Wentao (王文涛) and EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič agreed to set October as a deadline for advancing negotiations on trade disputes.
Beijing simultaneously proposed three directions: expanding cooperation in emerging fields like AI, designating services trade as an area "with potential," and increasing imports from the EU.
In plain terms = October is the hard test for this diplomatic push. If core disagreements — who concedes, whether technology exports stay restricted — show no real movement, "upward rebalancing" remains a slogan, not a deal.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.