European Parliament trade MEPs head to China to press overcapacity and market access

• 2026-10-25
• Europe
• News Desk
• Source: European Parliament https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20261019IPR48283/meps-visit-china-next-week-to-discuss-trade-challenges-and-opportunities

A delegation of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee (INTA), led by its chair Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), will visit Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai from 27 to 29 October to discuss China's trade policy and its impact on European businesses and jobs, the European Parliament said in a press release. It is the second such INTA visit to China, after the previous one in 2018.

Key facts

• The delegation of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) visits Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai in China from 27 to 29 October, led by INTA chair Bernd Lange.
• The European Parliament says the EU faces a daily trade deficit of 1 billion euros with China.
• MEPs will raise EU dependence on critical raw materials and technologies, China's excess production capacity and unequal market access for European companies.
• Talks are expected to cover the EU's planned Industrial Accelerator Act, known as the "Made in Europe" rules, and the new EU-China agreement on hybrid car imports.
• The visit is the fourth European Parliament delegation to travel to China in 2026.

What MEPs will raise

What will the MEPs raise with Beijing?

According to the European Parliament's statement, the MEPs intend to press key concerns including the EU's reliance on critical raw materials and technologies, Chinese excess production capacity that creates market imbalances, and unequal access for European firms to the Chinese market.

Discussions are also expected to address the growing flow of cheap Chinese goods into the EU market, the EU's planned Industrial Accelerator Act and the recent EU-China agreement on hybrid car imports.

The delegation will hold direct talks with Chinese counterparts and with regional and national government officials, including from China's Ministry of Commerce. The MEPs will also meet representatives of the EU Chamber of Commerce to better understand the difficulties European companies face in China, as well as officials from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Why Hangzhou is on the itinerary

In Hangzhou, described by the European Parliament as a major Chinese technology hub, the delegation will visit two of China's leading innovators, Unitree and BrainCo. The stop underlines the Parliament's stated interest in China's technological development alongside the trade disputes.

Ahead of the trip, Bernd Lange said the mission comes at a pivotal moment for EU-China trade relations and that the recent agreement on hybrid cars is only a starting point. He said many issues remain on the table, from industrial overcapacity to access to rare earths, and pointed to a daily EU trade deficit of 1 billion euros with China, due in part to Chinese import restrictions on EU companies. Lange said the delegation looks forward to engaging directly with counterparts in China to keep the dialogue going, strive for a breakthrough and achieve tangible results in the near future.

Who is travelling?

Lange, an S&D MEP from Germany, heads the delegation. He will be accompanied by Pascal Canfin (Renew, France), INTA's standing rapporteur for China; Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez (EPP, Spain); Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgium); Enikő Győri (PfE, Hungary); Jaak Madison (ECR, Estonia); Markéta Gregorová (Greens/EFA, Czechia); Rudi Kennes (The Left, Belgium); Angelika Niebler (EPP, Germany); Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Sweden); Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy); and Engin Eroglu (Renew, Germany), chair of the Delegation for Relations with the People's Republic of China.

The European Parliament notes that China is the EU's third-largest trading partner for goods and services combined, while the EU is among China's top trading partners. It describes the EU's deficit with China as growing steadily and recently reaching 1 billion euros a day, and characterises the economic relationship as unbalanced because of a significant asymmetry in market opening.

The visit follows recent talks between EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Chinese officials, as well as discussions among EU leaders. It will be the fourth European Parliament delegation to travel to China in 2026, a sign that the assembly is stepping up direct engagement with Beijing as it weighs the impact of Chinese industrial policy on European industry and jobs.

Source: European Parliament