China driving worrying rise in EU imports, Commission official says

Nearly a quarter of imports into the European Union are rising at ⁠a “worrying” rate, driven primarily by goods from China, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement officer said on Thursday.

Denis Redonnet told the European Parliament that ⁠sectors facing ‌sustained and abnormal import ⁠growth included machinery, textiles, basic metals, and chemicals. Redonnet was addressing the parliament’s trade committee as ​the Commission ​intensifies discussions with Beijing to address the EU’s goods trade deficit with China of €360 billion ($407 billion) in 2025.

Chinese imports into the bloc ‌have ​been rising while EU exports to China have fallen by ‌a similar rate, and ⁠Brussels hopes to agree some form of Chinese ‌export management this month. “It is of serious concern that the import surveillance or barometer results… show potentially worrying trends for almost a quarter of all imports into the ​EU at the moment,” Redonnet said. “And China and Chinese origin is the main driver of these import increases.”

EU imports totalled €2.53 ​trillion ($2.86 trillion) ‌in ​2025, with €571 billion from China. The increased exports ‌have driven ‌a sharp increase in industry requests for trade defence measures.

The EU executive Commission launched 32 new cases in 2025, just ⁠off the 2024 record of 33 and compared to a previous historical annual average of ‌12. More than a third ​of new investigations involved the chemicals sector. Redonnet said 27 new cases had already been opened in 2026.