European Union · Full chronicle and history

On November 6, the European Commission preliminarily determined that ByteDance's TikTok relies too heavily on metrics like watch time to recommend content, which may harm the mental health of minors. It has requested adjustments to the recommendation mechanism, noting that a final confirmation of violations could lead to fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover. TikTok has denied the allegations.

On October 17, 2026, Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, publicly proposed establishing a "European Defence Union." He said that the union is intended to serve as a broader geographical foundation for building an entirely new European defence architecture, and that its members would include not only EU member states but also non-EU countries such as Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Norway, in order to strengthen regional security cooperation.

On October 16, the EU released the formal conclusions of its summit, calling for the urgent addition of new trade tools to address economic imbalances, but without naming specific sectors such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and machinery.

Germany is pushing the EU to propose safeguard measures by the end of the year to impose quotas on Chinese imports of chemical products, machinery, and potentially pharmaceuticals, in addition to planned quotas on Chinese hybrid vehicles.

An EU leaders' summit is being held, with the agenda set to focus on the long-term budget and address issues such as the intensifying US-China competition.

According to Radio France Internationale (RFI), in light of the European Union's concerns about potential risks in China's supply chain, the EU plans to further expand cooperation with Vietnam in the field of critical minerals in order to enhance the security and diversification of supply chains.

According to Radio France Internationale, the European Council summit opening on Thursday will focus on core issues including the EU's next long-term budget, energy prices, aid to Ukraine, and trade with China.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, after successfully pressing China to cap its exports of hybrid vehicles to Europe at 350,000 units per year, EU member states are emboldened and have now reached a consensus on adopting a tougher trade stance toward China, preparing to speed up a series of follow-up unilateral actions.

On October 15, sources revealed that the European Commission has begun assessing import data for the chemicals, machinery and other industries, and von der Leyen proposed at the summit that safeguard and quota measures be taken to protect the relevant industries.

According to a Bloomberg report on October 14, the EU is negotiating with China to lift trade sanctions on a Chinese company suspected of assisting Russia's war against Ukraine, in exchange for China lifting sanctions on the German company Sindlhauser Materials GmbH. The German firm faces the risk of bankruptcy because it was placed on China's rare earth export control list; the two sides recently held talks in Beijing and agreed to strengthen information sharing on export restrictions.

Internal EU documents show that Europe is seeking to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam to obtain critical minerals such as tungsten and rare earths needed by the defense industry, and to reduce its dependence on Chinese supplies. Vietnam holds large reserves of relevant minerals. Export restrictions imposed by the Chinese government last year have already hit European supply chains, and Europe, while expanding its armaments, is unwilling to keep the supply of critical raw materials in China's hands.

According to a Reuters report on October 14, internal EU documents show that the EU is seeking to strengthen its relationship with Vietnam to secure supplies of critical minerals such as tungsten and rare earths, diversify supply sources, and reduce its dependence on China in the face of export restrictions.

Trade representatives from fifteen economies, including the United States, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, have jointly signed an agreement promoted by the U.S. that calls for the elimination of structural overcapacity and non-market policies that lead to overproduction.

On October 7, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on relations with China by 454 votes in favor, 86 against and 110 abstentions, calling for reciprocity in trade and investment, supporting proportionate EU measures if China does not open its domestic market, while also demanding continued human rights pressure on Beijing, the unconditional release of political prisoners, and expressing concern that the Law on Promoting National Unity and Progress could further institutionalize assimilation policies.

On October 5, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz sent a joint letter to European Commission President von der Leyen, proposing that the Commission be granted new trade countermeasure powers, allowing it to immediately cut off relevant third countries' access to the EU single market when necessary, and recommending the adoption of a reverse qualified majority mechanism. The document does not name China; according to AFP, the initiative was put forward amid escalating EU-China trade frictions, on the eve of the EU trade commissioner's talks in Beijing.

EU Trade Commissioner Šefčovič warned during the G20 trade ministers' meeting that Chinese exports are threatening key European industries such as automobiles and steel, and that overcapacity combined with global market turmoil could endanger entire sectors within weeks or months.

China and the EU recently reached an arrangement on import quotas for Chinese hybrid vehicles, against the backdrop of EU concerns over the impact of low-priced Chinese goods on domestic industries.

On September 29, China's Ministry of Commerce commented on the EU's plan to develop a tool similar to the US Section 301, criticizing it as protectionism and unilateralism, stating that if the EU insists on introducing discriminatory restrictive measures, China will certainly respond resolutely, and urging the EU to manage differences through dialogue.

On September 29, 2026, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said that such tools are protectionist and unilateralist measures, and that if the EU insists on introducing discriminatory restrictive measures against Chinese enterprises or products, the Chinese side will resolutely respond.

On September 17, the Financial Times reported that the EU has asked China to restrict exports of hybrid vehicles to Europe, setting a 15% market share cap. EU officials warned that if Beijing fails to cooperate voluntarily, the EU will take mandatory restrictive measures aimed at protecting domestic European industries from shocks.

According to the blogger in the video, the EU has been in long-term talks with China over Chinese dumping in the EU of new energy vehicles, steel, medical equipment and other products, and has set October of this year as the final deadline. If the negotiations break down, the EU market will be closed and the relevant Chinese products will be unable to enter.

On September 16, European Commission President von der Leyen delivered the State of the Union address at the European Parliament, stating that the EU's trade deficit with China has reached a critical point. She announced that the EU will use all available tools to reshape its relationship with China and established the European Critical Raw Materials Board to reduce dependence on Chinese rare earths.

On September 16, while delivering the State of the Union address before the European Parliament, von der Leyen announced that a European Critical Raw Materials Company would be established to coordinate the procurement and stockpiling of critical minerals, in order to reduce the EU's dependence on China for rare earths and other critical minerals.

EU trading restrictions on platforms including Huobi, as well as Binance's rule on halting direct fund transfers with Huobi, have officially taken effect.

On July 23, 2026, the EU adopted its 21st package of sanctions against Russia, adding Huobi (HTX), banning EU persons from trading with it from August 23, but without freezing its assets.

On July 12, 2026, on the tenth anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration, 14 countries including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia, as well as the European Union, issued separate statements reaffirming that the arbitral award is binding and explicitly rejecting China's claims of historic rights in the South China Sea based on the nine-dash line.

The EU issued a statement recognizing the legally binding nature of the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling, and expressing concern over the escalating tensions and dangerous incidents in the South China Sea.

On July 9, 2026, the EU announced anti-dumping duties of 4.3% to 45.3% on tires for passenger cars, light trucks and buses imported from China, finding that the dumping caused injury to the European industry.

The EU stated that the law may restrict the cultural, linguistic, and religious rights of ethnic minorities, and opposed the extraterritorial application of Chinese law to other countries in violation of international law.

On June 25, the EU began disbursing the first tranche of $3.41 billion out of a total $102.2 billion loan to Ukraine, aimed at supporting Ukraine with funds specifically allocated for drone production.

On June 13, 2026, media reports said a senior EU official confirmed that China assisted in secretly training Russian soldiers heading to the battlefield in Ukraine at multiple locations, with a focus on practical operation of drones and electronic warfare.

According to a Bloomberg report on June 3, the European Commission held a closed-door meeting last week to discuss how to address its imbalanced economic relations with China, publicly stating that bilateral trade and investment relations between China and the EU are unsustainable, and preparing to warn citizens and businesses of possible more intense trade frictions.

The EU Defense Commissioner released data estimating that Russia can manufacture approximately 1,100 cruise missiles and 900 ballistic missiles per year.