EU member states have voted to implement proposed tariffs of up to 45 per cent on Chinese electric vehicles. Germany was among five member states to vote against this, isolating itself among its counterparts. In response to the vote, China imposed anti-dumping measures on European brandy imports. But if geopolitical tensions escalate, the EU’s most substantial leverage might involve limiting China’s access to its markets.

This week Mark Leonard welcomes Agathe Demarais, ECFR geoeconomics programme lead, and Janka Oertel, director of ECFR’s Asia programme, to discuss the implications of EU economic sanctions on China. What does the vote mean for Beijing? Given Germany’s objection to EV tariffs, how might Berlin react to these measures? Does it have the potential to become a trade war? And what lessons on sanctions can Europeans learn from the Russia-Ukraine experience?

Bookshelf:

Hard, fast, and where it hurts: Lessons from Ukraine related sanctions for a Taiwan conflict scenario by Agathe Demarais

The Idea of China by Mark Leonard, Alicia Bachulska, and Janka Oertel

A Midsummer’s Equation: A detective Galileo novel by Keigo Higashino

This podcast was recorded on 18 October 2024

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