China's Commerce Ministry Criticizes France and Germany for Pushing EU to Strengthen Trade Protectionist Tools
nashnova research
France and Germany submitted an informal paper to the European Commission on October 5, calling for stronger trade-defense instruments; China's Commerce Ministry hit back, opposing the protectionist push and warning it would backfire.
What exactly did France and Germany propose?
The two countries jointly submitted an informal paper to the European Commission, urging the EU to strengthen existing trade-defense measures and roll out several new protectionist tools.
This means → the EU's two largest economies are pushing trade policy tighter from the inside — this is member-state pressure, not a Commission initiative.
In plain terms = France and Germany are telling Brussels: the current trade "shields" aren't enough — build more.
How did China's Commerce Ministry respond?
The ministry spokesperson laid out three layers: first, "interdependence is not a risk; intertwined interests are not a threat" — a direct rejection of the paper's underlying logic.
Second, a blunt verdict: "protectionism cannot improve competitiveness; decoupling only hurts both sides" — framing the proposed tools as both ineffective and harmful.
Third, France and Germany were called out by name to uphold WTO rules and stop "politicizing and over-securitizing" trade issues. This reflects Beijing reading the paper as a political maneuver, not a routine policy adjustment.
Why does this matter?
France and Germany are the EU's two largest economies. Their joint push signals that protectionist consensus inside the bloc is moving from the fringe to the mainstream.
Beijing's explicit warning that such moves would "backfire" hints at possible tit-for-tat countermeasures against any new EU instruments.
This means → friction between China and the EU is expanding from individual sectors (such as EV tariffs) into a systemic rules contest — the policy trajectory ahead is worth close watching.
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