EU's von der Leyen urges action after €36.5bn China deficit
The EU just hit a trade deficit with China: €36.5 billion in July 2026 alone.
Basically, the EU is buying three times more from China than it sells back, and the daily gap now tops €1 billion.
With this imbalance growing fast, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen is calling for action ahead of a summit with Xi Jinping and Donald Trump on September 24.
Sefcovic to meet China October 8
To tackle the deficit, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will meet his Chinese counterpart on October 8.
The EU might put quotas on things like hybrid cars: sales jumped from under 4,000 to 50,000 in less than two years.
They have asked China to slow down exports voluntarily, but China says any fix has to follow WTO rules.
The talks will also cover rare earth export restrictions at Thursday's summit in Washington, which matter for the car industry because of shortages of permanent magnets, so there is a lot riding on these negotiations.