Von der Leyen’s ‘China shock’ speech aimed to send Beijing a message: analysts
Por Xiaofei Xu — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement China-EU relations Economy Global Economy Von der Leyen’s ‘China shock’ speech aimed to send Beijing a message: analysts
The EU leader’s speech was light on specifics, but aimed to signal firm stance ahead of looming trade talks with Beijing, analysts say
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Xiaofei Xu in Paris Published: 9:00pm, 17 Sep 2026
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s state-of-the-union speech offered few details on new trade measures targeting China, but its sharp tone was designed to send a message to Beijing, analysts said.
During her speech on Wednesday, von der Leyen warned that a “second China shock” was already affecting Europe and vowed that Brussels would use all available tools to rebalance its trade relationship with the country. Her remarks came as the European Union’s October deadline for securing tangible results in rebalancing trade with China approaches. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic held a video conference with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao as planned on Thursday. Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
