European Chamber Highlights Consequences of China’s Supply Chain Dominance Go back »

2025-12-10 | All chapters

Beijing, 10^th December 2025 – The European Chamber today published Dealing with Supply Chain Dependencies: Challenges and Choices, which illustrates the dilemma China’s global supply chain dominance has created. While EU companies remain committed to the Chinese market, the report finds that China’s outsized influence on supply chains is now resulting in negative outcomes for some foreign companies and third country markets alike, which is pushing them to diversify away from the country in certain areas.

China’s highly-efficient industrial clusters has seen it become the world’s only manufacturing superpower and a cornerstone of global supply chains, essential for producing numerous products. However, for many companies, while cost and efficiency are still important considerations, other factors, including the need to ensure resilience and flexibility, are increasingly driving supply chain decision making.

Despite the benefits China offers as a manufacturing and sourcing destination, companies now need to take into consideration a growing list of drawbacks—ranging from exposure to trade wars, to long-standing concerns over discrimination in government and public procurement—as they look to balance their position in the China market against their need to continue serving other key markets around the world. For some, this involves actively reducing reliance on China in their supply chains to the extent that this is possible, and creating multiple sources for the same input.

China’s substantial trade surplus—along with a now demonstrated ability to exert control over critical goods through export controls—has also caught the attention of global governments wary of further deepening dependencies on a single country. This has led to an unprecedented number of trade investigations being lodged against Chinese products, and initiatives being developed to reduce dependencies on China at the country level. Over time, China’s ability to leverage its dominant position through measures like export controls may well diminish as these initiatives mature.

“The current EU-China trade relationship is like a fly waiting for a windscreen,” said Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber. “The ballooning trade imbalance between the EU and China—underpinned by an undervalued renminbi—along with the numerous critical dependencies that the EU has on China, are pushing Brussels towards more decisive action. The sooner China recognises the EU’s growing economic security concerns, and the two sides are able to address such core issues to enable a more sustainable and mutually beneficial trade relationship, the better.”

Download the report here.

中国欧盟商会指出中国供应链主导地位的影响

2025年12月10日，北京——中国欧盟商会今日发布《供应链依赖的选择与挑战》。报告指出，中国在全球供应链体系中占据主导地位，而这一格局也衍生出两难困境。尽管欧盟企业依旧投身中国市场，但中国在供应链中的主导地位对部分外企及第三国家市场造成了负面影响，进而促使其在部分领域开展供应链多元化转型，逐步降低对中国的供应链依赖。

中国高效的产业集群使其成为全球唯一的制造业超级大国和全球供应链的基石，也是生产诸多产品至关重要的一环。然而对许多企业而言，成本和效率仍然是重要考量因素，韧性与灵活性等相关因素已逐步成为指导供应链决策的重要依据。

尽管中国作为制造和采购目的地具备诸多优势，但在企业权衡其在中国市场的布局以及服务全球其他关键市场的需求时，需对日益增长的负面因素加以研判，包括贸易战风险以及长期以来对政府和公共采购中存在歧视问题的担忧。对部分企业而言，这意味着在可行范围内主动降低供应链对中国的依赖，建立多元供应来源。

中国贸易顺差巨大，并通过出口管制控制关键商品。多方政府本就对过度依赖单一国家持审慎态度，该事态进一步引发了各方的高度关注。这不仅导致针对中国产品的贸易调查数量跃升至历史峰值，更促使各国从国家层面出台相关举措，降低对中国的依赖度。从长远来看，随着相关举措逐步成熟，中国借助其供应链主导地位实施出口管制等措施的实质效应很可能会逐步渐弱。

中国欧盟商会主席彦辞表示：“当前的中欧贸易关系就像一只即将撞上挡风玻璃的苍蝇。随着人民币被低估，中欧贸易失衡愈演愈烈，以及欧盟在诸多关键领域对中国高度依赖，迫使欧方作出决断。中国越早认识到欧盟对经济安全的担忧，双方就能越早着力解决这些核心问题，从而建立更可持续，互利共赢的贸易关系。这对双方而言更为有利。“

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