BEIJING — The move to diversify supply chains away from China is poised to transition from mere discussion to real action, according to Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Eskelund shared these insights with reporters ahead of releasing a report focused on supply chain risks, as businesses anticipate changes in the upcoming year following a challenging 2025.
"Dependencies are being discussed in much more detail than they were before... Are we even sure Europe can manufacture toothpaste without ingredients sourced in China?" Eskelund remarked, underscoring the critical dependence on Chinese materials.
Despite facing U.S. tariffs, China's trade surplus reached an unprecedented $1 trillion for the year up to November, as per official statistics released on Monday. This indicates that China's export levels notably exceeded its imports.
Eskelund warned, "The higher that production goes up, the higher the risk that countries will begin to react." In the previous year, China was subject to a record 198 World Trade Organization trade investigations, with more than half initiated by developing nations.
The EU Chamber highlighted in its Wednesday report that China's share in global container shipping has been gradually increasing, reaching 37% for the first three quarters of this year, up from 36% at the end of 2024 and 31.7% prior to the pandemic in 2019.
Factors such as a weak Chinese currency and domestic overproduction were attributed to this growth, the chamber noted. Recommendations by the chamber included reducing single-source dependencies on the U.S. and China and urged EU policymakers to "accelerate plans to identify and eliminate critical dependencies."