Irish journalist in Brussels. Europe Correspondent, @SCMPnews. Covering Europe's relationship with China. Fermanagh man
Find me on bluesky
May 9 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
China's trade data for April came out this morning.
Have just had the chance to do some sums based on last April's numbers, and for Europe it is an absolute bloodbath.
EU exports to China are down by huge numbers, while China's exports to EU members keep surging
🧵
Monthly figures April 2025 vs April 2024
China's EU imports: -16.46%
China's German imports: -12.2%
China's French imports: -12.9%
China's Dutch imports: - 22.9%
China's Italian imports: -17.66%
Apr 23 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Zelensky: Chinese citizens were working at a drone production site in Russia, suggests Moscow may have “stolen” drone technology from China.
Comments come days after he said China was supplying weapons and gunpowder to Russia
scmp.com/news/world/rus…
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Chinese Ambassador Ma Shengkun and expressed Ukraine’s “serious concerns” over Chinese involvement in the war.
Apr 22 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Wang Yi calling European counterparts to try rallying them against Trump
1. With UK's David Lammy
"In context of rampant unilateral bullying, China + UK have responsibility to maintain the international order formed after WWII, with UN at its core + multilateral trading system"
Wang:
"This practice of regressing state-to-state relations to the law of the jungle is a historical reversal, unpopular and unsustainable, and is being resisted and opposed by more and more countries."
Apr 14 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
China's March trade data out
Continuation of some unwanted trends that'll stoke EU trade diversion angst
China's EU exports⬆️10.29%
China's EU imports⬇️7.5%
China's German exports⬆️ 11.9%
China's German imports⬇️ 6.5%
China's French exports ⬆️4.5%
China's French imports ⬇️2.6%
This chart shows the trend over the first quarter of 2025 (all stats in value terms, year-on-year)
China's EU exports⬆️3.7%
China's EU imports⬇️6.3%
China's German exports⬆️ 6%
China's German imports⬇️ 5.2%
China's French exports ⬆️0.5%
China's French imports ⬇️5%
Apr 11 • 25 tweets • 5 min read
New from me:
As the US and China wage superpower trade war, the EU senses more leverage over Beijing
scmp.com/news/china/dip…
When French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot went to Beijing last month, he gave his Chinese counterparts an ultimatum: do something about hefty tariffs on cognac imports and the liquor’s abrupt removal from your duty-free stores, or our entire “strategic agenda” will be paused.
Apr 10 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
Late night SCOOP!
EU leaders plan trip to Beijing in July for summit with Xi Jinping
VDL + Costa plan comes after they failed to convince Xi to come to Brussels
scmp.com/news/china/dip…
The plan suggests a second successive EU-China summit would be held in the Chinese capital, despite the fact that the location is supposed to rotate.
VDL and Charles Michel went to Beijing in 2023, there was no summit last year
Mar 12 • 17 tweets • 5 min read
Breaking
In response to Trump's tariffs on steel & aluminium, the European Commission announced 2 tranches of retaliation covering €26bn in US goods
1. Suspended retaliation from Trump 1.0 will lapse on April 1
2. New measures in response to the additional Trump duties totalling €18bn, in mid Apr
Mar 7 • 50 tweets • 16 min read
We're bang in the middle of global upheaval that's sweeping all before it. This could include EU-China relations
We're waiting for the *actual* change, but there's been lots of noise, so here's a long thread on what's happened this year and where we may go
Anatomy of a detente?
As 2025 began, EU-China ties were in a terrible place. Brussels was fed up of Beijing's ties with Moscow and its intransigence on economic issues
But with Trump coming, talk of a trade war was parked as both sides awaited the inevitable change.
China courts frazzled Europe as Western alliance wavers
A thread looking at how Beijing swooped in to try to charm Europe in the face of US hostility in Munich
scmp.com/news/china/dip…
Munich was left stunned by the words and deeds of Vance, Kellogg and others
The VP told Europe to forget Russia and China, the real enemy was the threat from within.
He told them to drop the firewall against far-right parties, then met the leader of the AfD
Jan 14 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
BREAKING: EU finds discrimination in China's medical devices sector, concluding first probe under international procurement instrument
Brussels wants talks with Beijing, but could ban Chinese bidders from EU government contracts
Probe launched in April 2024. IPI investigations must complete in 9 months, so nothing political about the timing
Report published today found “clear evidence of China limiting access of EU medical devices producers to its government contracts in unfair and discriminatory way”.
Jan 13 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
🚨New Chinese data this morning shows overall trade with the EU grew just 0.4% in 2024
Chinese exports to the EU up 3% vs 2023
Chinese imports from the EU down 4.4%
China's annual imports from:
Germany -10.7%
Netherlands +11.2% (ASML chip making kit)
France -5.9%
Italy -3.2%
According to my calculations based on last year's numbers, the EU trade deficit with China is now US$247.1bn, up from US$219.5 billion last year
That's close to €300bn (€293.8bn) and is up 12.58% from 2023.
This will help fuel more talk of Chinese overcapacity
Nov 7, 2024 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
New: EU plans for talks with Trump’s team as it seeks to head off a major economic shock
They seek to avoid tariffs and ensure US support for Ukraine. They've already been told what Trump would expect in return: EU backing for his tough agenda on China.
scmp.com/news/china/art…
The China demand was made clear during pre-election talks with Republican interlocutors, according to people familiar with the talks.
It's likely to be just one item on a laundry list from a man who showed disdain for EU institutions during his first stint in the White House.
Oct 22, 2024 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
Waiting for Trump? How EU’s China policy anticipates his return to the White House
Report from me 2 weeks out from the US election on how fear of 2.0 is percolating through almost every fibre of EU policymaking - especially on China
scmp.com/news/china/dip…
Ahead of the vote on EV duties earlier this month, several EU members were called on by American diplomats.
The msg was simple: if you vote against these duties and Trump wins in November, the EU would have no credibility to make a deal with Trump that might involve China policy
May 17, 2024 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: China and EU hurtling towards trade war, business chief fears
Caught up with EU Chamber in China chief Jens Eskelund in Brussels yesterday
scmp.com/news/china/art…
The chamber expects EU duties on Chinese EVs this summer, and China to respond
“Based on historical precedence, I fear there will be retaliation."
Asked if he was confident a trade war could be averted: “I really wish I could give you an emphatic yes. And I don’t think I can."
May 6, 2024 • 19 tweets • 4 min read
As Xi Jinping heads to France, China seeks chance to sway one of EU’s most powerful members
Reupping this longread from the weekend
scmp.com/news/china/dip…
Macron's China policy can often seem contradictory and confusing - few have embodied that enigmatic triptych of “partner, competitor, rival” more than he.
“He is neither pro-China nor anti-American. Macron is pro-European,” said MEP ally @MariePierreV
Apr 26, 2024 • 19 tweets • 7 min read
Feels like a pretty seismic week in EU-China relations. I get the feeling that we're not in Kansas anymore
Here is a summary of the major events that have happened, let me know if I missed any, bearing in mind it's still only lunchtime on Friday...
Monday:
German federal prosecutors announced that three German nationals had been arrested on “strong suspicion” of spying for Chinese intelligence services.
(UK also charged two men under the Official Secrets Act over allegedly spying for China)
A fiery session of the WTO's Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) on Tues that demonstrates the divisions between China and the West
The EU, US and China clashed on a number of important topics, ranging from overcapacity to Brussels' EV probe.
A thread 🧵
Per Geneva trade source, there were "sharp exchanges" between the US and China over the topic of industrial overcapacity.
China was challenged for insisting the term "overcapacity" get taken of the agenda for a discussion on "Subsidies and Capacity"
Apr 23, 2024 • 18 tweets • 5 min read
🚨 More huge news in Germany
An assistant to the far right's lead candidate in the European elections is arrested, suspected of spying for China.
"investigators accuse Jian G. of having spied on the Chinese exile opposition in Germany. He is said to have worked in various positions in opposition groups and collected information about Chinese dissidents. He reported this to China"
Feb 17, 2024 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
Wang Yi about to speak at Munich Security Conference now, in conversation with @MSCheusgen.
Then Blinken, Baerbock, Jaishankar share a panel immediately after.
🧵I will post some of the main points in a thread here...
@MSCheusgen Wang says in 2023, the "global economy was weighed down by protectionism and the abuse of the security concept and the international system was impaired by unilateralism and bloc politics"
Jan 23, 2024 • 68 tweets • 10 min read
China's "universal periodic review" is underway.
A peer-review process under the UN Human Rights Council, 163 countries are expected to speak for 45 seconds each on China's human rights record since 2018.
Chinese envoy Chen Xu says all "56 ethnic groups in China are equal", talks up the Belt and Road Initiative as advancing human rights through development", and says claims all "200 million religious believers in China... exist in harmony"...
Dec 14, 2023 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Wild, wild story.
After an audit found that Volkswagen's Xinjiang plant had no forced labour, the firm's official LinkedIn account posted a note distancing itself from the findings.
Note below, story from FT
ft.com/content/46b37a…
In a week when the EU is trying to finalise its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (it also hopes to conclude a forced labour ban in the new year), instances like this show the challenges facing any company with a presence in Xinjiang.