Düsseldorf, Shanghai, Brussels. Because the economy in its home country is weakening, China is exporting more and more to Europe. Chinese imports into the EU rose by a further seven percent from January to July. In several segments the upward trend is even in double digits.
Imports to the EU from China had already risen sharply in 2025 and are now reaching a new record level of 352 billion euros. The data underlines: Delivery problems as a result of the Iran war have hardly set China's industry back and only temporarily.
Chinese chemical companies shipped significantly more goods to Europe again in June and July. The development in mechanical engineering was very similar. Deliveries of cars to Europe over the entire period from January to July were around 50 percent higher than in the same period last year. The trend of Chinese exports rising massively continued in August, as current economic data from China shows.
Chinese companies in many industries are penetrating Europe with so-called predatory prices. German and European manufacturers accuse competitors of price dumping and importing subsidized exports to Europe. The pressure on the EU for the upcoming trade negotiations with Beijing is growing. Results are expected as early as October.
Those responsible at the EU Commission continue to rely on negotiations with Beijing. At the same time, protective tariffs against hybrid cars and chemicals from China are being prepared in the background, according to Commission circles.
The ailing German chemical industry experienced a strong recovery phase from March onwards. Top managers from BASF, Evonik and Covestro all reported in May that import pressure from Chinese competitors had fallen significantly. China had previously flooded the European markets with its products, especially in basic chemicals.
The development from the spring of the current year is also confirmed by figures on EU chemical imports from China. They show that volumes fell significantly, especially in March and April, compared to the same months last year. Because of concerns about delivery bottlenecks caused by the Iran war, many customers had increasingly turned to European companies. The Chinese, on the other hand, had to take into account enormously higher transport costs to Europe.
However, the relief for Europe's chemical industry should not last long; there is only a short respite. In June, imports were already 22 percent higher than the previous year. Even in July it was still 20 percent. In Europe, the industry now fears that sales prices will fall again due to pressure from China. German chemicals in particular are severely affected by imports from China, as the data shows.
German mechanical engineering, another traditional industry, is also shaken by Chinese imports: competition from China is increasing rapidly. As in chemistry, there was a brief respite in May, as the Eurostat figures show. But in June imports grew by 15 percent compared to the same period last year. In July, ten percent more machines were delivered to the EU.
China's mechanical engineering companies have become technologically better and are now on a par with their European competitors in some areas. But German machine manufacturers complain about distortions of competition and are calling for countermeasures from the EU. Bertram Kawlath, President of the Mechanical Engineering Association VDMA, says: “We must not allow ourselves to become a plaything for subsidies, dumping and currency manipulation.”
In addition to mechanical engineering, imports of precious metals from China into the EU increased significantly between January and July. But the automotive industry recorded the greatest growth.
In the first half of 2026, the trend of Chinese car manufacturers pushing into Europe increased extremely. While imports of road vehicles in January were ten percent higher than the same month last year, import values rose sharply to 50 percent in the following months: in June it was 52 percent and in July 53 percent.
Around 780,000 new Chinese cars were registered on European roads in the first seven months. That's almost as many as in the whole of 2025.
The Chinese are gaining more and more market share, as another data analysis by Handelsblatt shows. From January to July, 8.7 percent of new registrations were for Chinese brands. In 2021 it was only 0.6 percent. Last but not least, China's car manufacturers are currently focusing on exports because they are stuck in ruinous price competition in their home market. This forces development.
German car managers are also worried that imports from China will put further pressure on sales prices in Europe - and thus on the returns of already struggling domestic manufacturers.
The situation on the automobile market is exemplary of the situation in which China's economy finds itself. Because domestic consumption and thus the domestic economy are weakening. The Chinese economy grew by 4.7 percent in the first half of the year. But the pace noticeably slows down. In the second quarter of the current year, growth was only 4.3 percent.
Despite everything, it appears that China has weathered the economic effects of the conflict over Iran and the tensions on the Strait of Hormuz comparatively well, which is increasing the imbalance: more and more is being produced that does not find sufficient buyers at home. Chinese companies are looking for higher-margin foreign markets for electric and hybrid vehicles, for batteries and for products from the mechanical engineering and solar energy sectors. And Europe is a popular destination.
Peter Jin, a consultant for Chinese companies seeking to enter foreign markets, explains to the Handelsblatt in Shanghai that two aspects in Europe are particularly interesting for Chinese companies. “Higher margins and less competition,” he says. The US markets are increasingly closed to Chinese suppliers.
Added to this is Beijing's industrial policy: the state and the regions specifically promote technological upgrades and industrial capacities. Not only do the provinces compete with each other for the location and production capacity of companies, but also cities and even individual city districts. In this way, the volume of goods produced is driven up further.
In addition, the undervalued yuan offers a price advantage. According to an estimate by the US think tank Brookings, the Chinese currency is undervalued by more than 20 percent compared to the US dollar, which makes Chinese products cheaper. Other estimates also assume an undervaluation of 16 to around 20 percent. However, the numbers are not without controversy.
In return, the EU could make concessions on existing measures, such as countervailing duties on Chinese electric cars, EU diplomats report to Handelsblatt. But behind the scenes, the negotiators are also preparing for their concerns to fail. In response, the EU could impose protective tariffs in several sectors.
Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic plans to travel to Beijing at the beginning of October to take stock of the negotiations with his colleague Wang Wentao. If there is no progress by then, the EU Commission plans to impose new protective tariffs, according to several high-ranking EU officials and diplomats. Political support for this could be provided at the summit of EU heads of state and government in Brussels on October 15th and 16th.
