The European Union should be ready to defend its own interests with respect to China in areas beyond electric vehicles though the bloc isn’t seeking a trade war, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.
“In all areas, maybe solar panels, maybe other areas, we have to ensure that trade is based on fair rules,” he told Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of a Eurogroup meeting in Santiago de Compostela, Spain on Friday. “It is maybe the beginning of a new period, new era where the EU starts thinking about its own interest.”
France has welcomed an EU probe into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles, saying the continent must show that it’s determined to defend its economic and industrial interests. Le Maire has been a particularly vocal champion of that cause, pushing his peers in the bloc for a more proactive approach as China and the US spar for dominance.
“We are not here to trigger any kind of trade war, we are just here to ensure that fair rules are being implemented by all partners, whether by China or by any other partner,” the minister said.
Still, there’s plenty at stake for France in the event of heightened tensions with China with anything from wine to aircraft makers exporting to the country. The Asian nation is a key market for French luxury companies including behemoth LVMH, for which China represents 16% of sales, according to estimates from HSBC analysts.
Asked if French chief executives had contacted him with concerns after the EU probe was announced, the finance minister said he had received some phone calls, without saying from whom.
“My response was quite clear,” he said. “What do you want: A weak Europe or a strong Europe?”
He added: “If you want fair competition between China and the EU, you need a strong Europe.”
--With assistance from Alessandra Migliaccio, Alonso Soto, Kamil Kowalcze, Jana Randow, Jorge Valero and Alan Katz.
(Updates with comments from finance minister starting in sixth paragraph.)
