HeyJaredSOAPBOX
SOAPBOX provides insights on EU-China trade. The weekly newsletter, compiled by Rafael Jimenez Buendía and Ilaria Perla, is published in collaboration with the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS).
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 11
- Latest publication
- Sep 28, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 6, 2026
Latest issues
The EU heads to Beijing for action, not another trade debate (opens the original)
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In less than two weeks, an EU delegation will be in China for trade talks on 8 and 9 October. The latest Chinese customs figures offer an early indication of the evidence awaiting it. In August, China exported US$55.1 billion of goods to the EU and imported only US$23.0 billion. Exports rose 6.6% from a year earlier, while imports were virtually unchanged. The resulting US$32.1 billion surplus was 11.3% larger.Measured in renminbi, the direction is even clearer. Chinese exports to the EU rose on
The EU’s China trade imbalance moves beyond 3 to 1 (opens the original)
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The EU imported €53.9 billion of goods from China in July, 8% more than a year earlier. Its exports to China moved in the opposite direction, falling 1.6% to €17.4 billion. The result was a monthly deficit of €36.5 billion, up from €32.3 billion in July 2025.The imbalance has now moved beyond 3 to 1. For every euro of goods the EU exported to China in July, it imported €3.10. The deficit was equivalent to €1.18 billion a day.<a class="image-link image2 is-
China’s surplus is becoming a $100bn-a-month habit (opens the original)
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In the first eight months of 2026, China exported goods worth $2.92tn and imported $2.12tn. The difference was an $806bn surplus, equivalent to $3.3bn every day.This is not a one-month aberration. Since 2021, exports have increased by 40%, while imports have grown by only 22%. For four consecutive years, China’s January–August exports have been at least one third larger than its imports. At that ratio, the surplus is usually equivalent to at least one quarter of everything China exports.For Chin
China’s electric-car exports to the EU near 2023 peak (opens the original)
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China’s exports of full-electric cars to the EU fell sharply after Brussels imposed additional countervailing duties in 2024. The measures were intended to offset what the Commission concluded was an unfair subsidy advantage and prevent subsidised Chinese production from distorting the EU market.But the decline may be proving temporary. If the pace seen so far in 2026 continues, we estimate Chinese exports of full-electric cars to the EU will reach about €10.5bn this year, close to the €11bn pea
Germany drives the fall in EU exports to China (opens the original)
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EU exports to China fell 2% year-on-year in H1 2026. But that headline conceals a very uneven picture across the bloc. Exports increased in 15 member states and declined in 11. Among the larger exporters, France rose 17%, Italy 19% and Ireland 34%, while several smaller economies recorded much faster growth.<div
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