French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for stronger European trade protections and greater investment, warning that dependence on China and fossil fuels is threatening the continent’s competitiveness.
Speaking in Spain, Macron urged Europe to accelerate innovation, simplify regulations, increase financing and protect European industrial producers from what he described as unfair competition.
“China has completely flooded the European market. For decades, we told ourselves: ‘Very good, China is a huge market for us Europeans. We need China.’ That is true. We transferred a lot of technology, sold a lot, and we still do to some extent,” Macron said.
He accused China of heavily subsidizing companies and engaging in practices aimed at eliminating competitors through artificially low prices.
“Today, as we speak, we Europeans have a trade deficit with China of €1 billion every day,” he added.
Macron called for faster investigations by the European Commission, stronger trade-defense instruments and requirements ensuring that imported products meet the same standards imposed on European manufacturers.
On energy, Macron warned that Europe’s decarbonization efforts had not eliminated its vulnerabilities.
“Today, we remain highly dependent on fossil fuels. We can see this clearly with what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, which poses a problem for our economic models. Even countries that have made significant progress in decarbonization, such as Spain and France, each following their own path, still have these dependencies,” he said.
Macron also called for stronger electricity interconnections and greater investment in artificial intelligence, quantum technology and defense.
He argued that Europe has substantial savings that could be redirected toward investment, but said financial regulations introduced after the global financial crisis had constrained banks and insurers.
Macron called for easing financial rules to channel more European savings into investment, alongside a stronger EU budget and deeper integration of the bloc’s single market.
His remarks come as the European Union considers additional measures to address what it describes as unfair competition and growing trade imbalances with China. Beijing has warned that it would respond if the EU introduces new restrictions targeting Chinese companies or products.
