Chinese Components Could Devastate EU Manufacturing as Metalworkers Protest ‘Colonization’

European metal producers are planning to carry 10 symbolic coffins to the European Commission, labeled “EU competitiveness,” “industrial jobs” and “European factories.” Their protest reflects a warning from Eurometal that Chinese component makers are embedding themselves so deeply in European supply chains that local industry could be hollowed out.

The association forecasts that competition from China could cost EU manufacturing up to 300,000 jobs during the rest of 2026. China’s trade surplus with the European Union has reached a record 1 billion euros a day, according to the report. European manufacturers say Brussels has not fully recognized the damage that component imports can cause, particularly in metals and chemicals, which account for 90% of manufacturing use.

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China is not hiding its strategic intentions. They were already written into its five-year plans.

Eurometal chairman Alexander Julius says China no longer wants to remain only a supplier of raw materials. In his view, it seeks to become a supplier of key products because control of supply chains brings control of the wider value chain. He compared the trend to a “virus,” arguing that political leaders and media have noticed rising unemployment in places such as Germany without addressing what he described as the underlying cause of company closures and moves to China and India.

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The virus is the root cause.

European metalmakers face rising costs, including steel import tariffs and carbon charges on energy-intensive industries. Chinese components avoid those burdens and also benefit from what the article describes as an undervalued yuan, making competition difficult. Yet Julius says companies will continue buying from China to satisfy shareholders, regardless of political statements from Brussels.

The European Commission has forecast that global competition and high energy costs could result in more than 1 million potential job losses. Volkswagen has separately confirmed plans to cut 100,000 jobs, the article says. The EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024 and raised tariffs on foreign steel in June. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has called the annual 360 billion euro imbalance with China unsustainable. The two sides have agreed to a three-month truce while negotiations continue through October, but China has repeatedly accused Europe of protectionism and threatened firm retaliation against further EU action.

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The imbalance between the European Union and China is unsustainable.