The European Union (EU) flags in front of EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: VCG

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told French business leaders on Thursday local time that the EU's trade deficit with China cannot be accepted as "permanent imbalance." She said Europe must be ready to use trade defence instruments when dialogue falls short. But Chinese experts rejected that framing. Blaming China for the resulting trade gap is like blaming the tide for the hole in your boat, they said.

"What von der Leyen calls a trade imbalance is only a result. Using this outcome to justify protectionist measures is unreasonable," Hu Qimu, a professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times on Friday. 

"The core reason lies in China's rising industrial competitiveness, driven by manufacturing upgrading. If the EU keeps focusing only on its trading partners without fixing its own problems, it will neither improve competitiveness nor fundamentally reverse the deficit," said Hu.

Chinese experts also pointed to specific sectors where China's manufacturing upgrade has reshaped bilateral trade. 

For example, in electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products, Chinese companies have moved up the value chain, exporting high-quality yet cost-competitive goods that European consumers and firms increasingly need for the clean-energy transition. This shift has changed the composition of EU imports from China - away from low-end consumer goods and toward technology-intensive products. 

Meanwhile, according to customs statistics, European exports to China in traditional strengths such as machinery and premium automobiles have faced slower growth, partly because Chinese domestic alternatives have improved. The result is a widening gap not caused by unfair practices, but by a structural change in relative industrial capability, experts said.

EU internal factors have compounded the problem. Energy costs in Europe remain far higher than in China or the US, eroding the price competitiveness of European manufacturers in global markets, including China. Regulatory burdens - from lengthy permitting processes to complex compliance requirements - raise operational costs and slow down innovation and investment. 

Hu noted that von der Leyen herself acknowledged high energy prices and an incomplete single market in her speech. "These are self-inflicted constraints," she said. 

There is another overlooked driver: the EU's own export restrictions. Controls on high-tech goods, including certain advanced machinery and semiconductor-related equipment, limit what European firms can sell to China. While framed as security measures, these restrictions directly reduce EU export revenues and widen the trade deficit. 

If Europe restricts its most competitive products from entering the Chinese market, it should not be surprised when the deficit grows, experts added.

China's Ministry of Commerce has consistently opposed what it calls the EU's abuse of unilateral tools such as the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. 

Still, experts noted that China has been actively in talk with the EU showed its sincerity to solve problems through dialogues.

China has established a Trade and Investment Consultation mechanism with the EU, with workstreams covering trade balancing, export controls, intellectual property and WTO reform. 

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said earlier that "the root causes of the challenges facing the EU do not lie with China" and called for deeper cooperation.

Observers noted that the EU has set an October timeframe for tangible progress in rebalancing trade. But the structural drivers - high energy costs, regulatory drag and self-imposed export limits - cannot be fixed by launching more protectionist measures. Sustained dialogue through the consultation mechanism, based on equality and mutual respect, remains the more constructive path. 

As Hu put it: "Protectionism will not make European industry competitive again. Internal reform and genuine cooperation will."