French President Emmanuel Macron called Wednesday for stronger European trade defenses and greater investment, warning that dependence on China and fossil fuels threatens the continent's competitiveness.
Speaking in Spain, Macron urged Europe to boost innovation, simplify regulations, increase financing and protect industrial producers from unfair competition.
"China has completely flooded the European market. For decades, we told ourselves: 'Wonderful, China is a huge market for us Europeans. We need China.' That is true. We transferred a great deal of technology, we sold a great deal, and we still do to some extent."
He accused China of heavily subsidizing companies and engaging in dumping to eliminate competitors.
"Today, as we speak, we Europeans run a trade deficit with China of €1 billion every day."
Macron called for faster European Commission investigations, stronger trade defense instruments and requirements ensuring imports meet the same standards imposed on European producers.
On energy, he warned that decarbonization had not eliminated Europe's vulnerabilities.
"Today, we remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels. We can clearly see this with what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, which poses a problem for our economic models. Even countries that have made substantial progress in decarbonisation, such as Spain and France, each following its own path, still have these dependencies."
He called for stronger electricity interconnections and greater investment in artificial intelligence, quantum technology and defense.
"We Europeans have more savings than the Americans. Those savings go into our banks and insurance companies. Because we introduced extremely restrictive rules following a financial crisis that originated with American market participants, we overregulated our banks and insurers."
Macron urged easing financial rules to channel savings into investment, alongside a stronger EU budget and deeper integration of the single market.
