Dombrovskis at Bund Summit: EU pursues targeted de‑risking while staying open to China

Main Message

Executive Vice‑President Dombrovskis said recent shocks including the pandemic, monetary tightening and Russia’s war in Ukraine have exposed vulnerabilities and shifted policy focus from efficiency to resilience, leading the EU to pursue targeted "de‑risking" while remaining committed to open trade. He highlighted the EU's Next Generation EU recovery instrument of €800 billion and stressed that de‑risking is not decoupling.

Why It Matters

The speech noted that last year EU–China bilateral trade reached €865 billion with an EU goods and services deficit of almost €400 billion, and warned that trade is increasingly weaponised as non‑tariff restrictions rise, which threatens the rules‑based global trading system. Dombrovskis also pointed to global challenges where China’s participation is crucial, including climate action and debt relief for low‑income countries, with the IMF estimating about 60% are in debt distress or at high risk.

What Follows

He invited China to help revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative and urged continued cooperation under frameworks such as the G20 Common Framework to address debt and climate challenges.