EU foreign ministers label China a long-term strategic challenge and set October deadline for trade talks

EU foreign ministers issued a joint assessment on July 16, 2026, describing China as a critical long-term strategic challenge to the bloc. The document states that China threatens the EU’s economy and security through asymmetric advantages in economic and technological dominance.

The assessment notes that China and Russia share the ambition to assert regional dominance and reshape the global order.

It adds that China serves as a key enabler of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that the deepening strategic partnership between the two will strengthen interconnections between strategic theatres from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. The ministers set an October deadline to rebalance trade ties with China through dialogue.

Chinese overcapacity threatens entire sectors of the European economy, Euronews reported, while China controls rare earth supplies vital to the EU’s defence industry and green technologies.

The EU became collateral damage in the US-China trade war last year when Beijing restricted global exports of rare earths. Several Chinese firms were targeted by EU sanctions under the bloc’s 21st sanctions package announced in April. The assessment states that Beijing’s growing ambitions and assertiveness, combined with its strategic competition with the US, will increasingly impact the EU’s security, competitiveness, and economic security.