The Chinese Mission to the European Union has formally escalated its opposition to a pair of pending EU legislative acts, warning that Beijing is prepared to launch counter-measures if the bloc persists in what it calls "institutional discrimination" against Chinese firms.
In a dedicated press briefing held in Brussels, Minister Suo Peng, the mission’s chief for economic and trade affairs, detailed China’s formal "commentary opinions" regarding the revised EU Cybersecurity Act and the newly proposed Industrial Accelerator Act. Suo characterized the moves as a dangerous shift toward the "securitization" of economic issues, suggesting they would inflict "substantial harm" on the China-EU trade relationship.
The crux of Beijing’s grievance lies in the EU’s introduction of "non-technical risk" factors within the Cybersecurity Act. According to Suo, these criteria are "subjective and arbitrary," serving as a political tool to exclude Chinese vendors from critical infrastructure. This follows a broader European trend—accelerated by the 2024 implementation of the 5G Toolbox—to purge "high-risk" suppliers like Huawei and ZTE from the continent’s digital backbone.
Furthermore, the mission took aim at the Industrial Accelerator Act, a flagship EU policy designed to speed up the development of strategic technologies like green hydrogen and advanced semiconductors. Beijing argues the bill creates "investment barriers" by setting restrictive requirements for foreign investment and exclusionary clauses in public procurement. By favoring local "sovereign" supply chains, China claims the EU is violating World Trade Organization (WTO) principles and slowing its own green transition.
The briefing comes at a volatile time for Brussels-Beijing relations. The EU is currently conducting several high-profile anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, and medical devices. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has consistently championed a "de-risking" strategy to reduce critical dependencies on China, particularly in the tech and energy sectors.
"If the European side insists on passing these laws and treats Chinese enterprises in a discriminatory manner, China will be forced to take countermeasures," Minister Suo stated, though he stopped short of detailing specific retaliatory steps. Legal experts suggest such moves could include reciprocal bans on European firms in China’s high-tech sectors or trade restrictions under China’s own Foreign Trade Law.
While the rhetoric from the Chinese Mission remains sharp, Minister Counselor Chen Su, who chaired the briefing, emphasized that China still prefers "constructive dialogue." However, the tone suggests that the "honeymoon period" of separate economic cooperation and political friction is over.
For global investors, the friction highlights a deepening bifurcation of the tech world. As the EU builds a "Fortress Europe" around its digital and industrial sectors to counter Chinese state-led competition, Beijing is signaling that the era of uncontested European access to the Chinese market may be coming to a close. The outcome of these legislative processes will serve as a bellwether for whether the two powers can maintain a stable "partnership" or if they are headed for a broader systemic decoupling.