The EU unveiled a series of measures on Wednesday to kickstart its sluggish manufacturing and reduce reliance on cheap Chinese imports.
Brussels’ “Made in Europe” push targets the strategic sectors of clean tech, auto manufacturing, and energy-intensive industries like aluminum and steel.
The plan effectively “tightens the screws on Beijing’s future investments” in the EU, Euronews wrote, as the bloc races to stem a projected loss of 600,000 automotive jobs over the next 10 years.
The proposals reveal Europe’s anxiety over its ability to compete with cheap Chinese products, along with heightened security concerns linked to Chinese investments, “and a new-found urgency to do something about both,” the South China Morning Post wrote.