EU-China trade deficit has hit ‘tipping point,’ warns von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will use her State of the Union speech on Wednesday to reiterate her warning over the EU’s ballooning trade deficit with China, as Brussels steps up negotiations with Beijing ahead of a key October deadline. “Our trade deficit with China is now €1 billion euro — a day. It has reached a tipping point,” she was due to tell lawmakers in Strasbourg, according to her prepared remarks obtained in advance by POLITICO. “Some say the second China shock is looming. But it’s already here. It shows in our communities and factories across our Union. It leads to de-industrialisation in the industrial heartlands of Europe. This is unsustainable,” she said.