EU Goes on China Trade Offensive After Getting ‘Played’ (1)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is unleashing a barrage of trade restrictions against China as she seeks to follow through on a pledge to make the EU a more relevant political player on the global stage.

In addition to an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles, the European Union is looking into whether Beijing provided illegal support for windparks on the continent. It has also brought subsidy probes into solar and railway firms and will shortly launch an inquiry into China’s procurement of medical devices.

The deluge of investigations is a reflection of the EU’s increasingly assertive ...