Leader of European Parliament’s Largest Bloc Calls for Tougher China Trade Policy

Eurostat data show that the EU’s goods deficit with China hit 98 billion euros (about $114 billion) in the first quarter.

Chairman of the center-right European People Party group (EPP) Manfred Weber addresses a joint press conference during the EPP Groups Bureau meeting in Berlin, on Sept. 9, 2021 Stefanie Loos/AFP via Getty Images

Manfred Weber, leader of the European Parliament’s largest political group, called for the European Union to take a tougher trade stance toward China, warning that Beijing’s industrial overcapacity threatens Europe’s manufacturing base.

“The time of naivety is over,” Weber told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on June 7. “We must defend European interests more clearly, more firmly, and more consistently.”