France's president Emmanuel Macron with Chinese president Xi Jinping and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty ImagesShe said heavily subsidised Chinese products such as electric vehicles and steel are flooding the European market and said the world cannot absorb China’s surplus production.
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire has said the changes mark an end to the era of “happy globalisation” and that the EU must now show its teeth with more tools to rebalance trade with China. Ms von der Leyen said she encouraged the Chinese government to address “structural overcapacities” as China “continues to massively support its manufacturing sector” while domestic demand fails to grow.