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EU Observer (17 June 2026)

Wester van Gaal, Elena Sánchez Nicolás

When EU leaders sit down to dinner at the European Council on Thursday evening (18 June), the item on the agenda will be listed as “global macroeconomic imbalances.”

But everyone in the room is aware that can only mean one thing. “We all know the imbalances discussion is about China,” one senior EU diplomat said in a background briefing ahead of the summit.

Europe’s trade deficit with China amounted to €360bn in 2025, or roughly €1bn a day. The commission and a growing group of member states want to take stronger measures to save European industries. 

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