CAI MENG/CHINA DAILY
As the global wave of green transition accelerates, major-power competition is increasingly intertwined with the green economy race.
The European Union, once a pioneer and leader in the global green transition, is now facing growing concerns over its technological and industrial competitiveness, and remains highly vigilant about China's position in global green industrial chains. In response, the EU has recently rolled out a series of protectionist measures targeting China across multiple fronts, including green industries, technologies and regulatory frameworks. This has intensified China-EU green economic and trade frictions, reducing the space for bilateral green cooperation and adding further uncertainties to the global green transition process.
The EU's green economic and trade protectionism is mainly manifested in the following three aspects.
First, it intensifies the use of trade defense instruments against China. The EU has frequently launched antidumping, antisubsidy and other trade remedy investigations targeting China in green industries, and imposed high tariffs on Chinese clean technology products, such as battery electric vehicles and biodiesel. These measures directly raise the import costs of Chinese products through tariff barriers, erode their price advantage and shield EU-made products from the pressure of so-called "unfair competition".
