EU Struggles to Confront China as Trade Consensus Eludes
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- Europe wants to rebalance trade with Beijing but cannot quit Chinese-made air conditioners, a consumer dependence the WSJ frames as making a trade war hard to start during a heat wave.
- The EU is struggling to find consensus on how to confront China on trade, with Beijing and Brussels set for a second trade and investment consultation.
Why it matters: Europe's inability to walk away from cheap Chinese consumer goods like air conditioners shows the practical ceiling on decoupling rhetoric, while the bloc's inability to agree on a common line with Beijing leaves any rebalancing slow and fragmented.
