The EU fined one Chinese company and opened an investigation into a takeover bid by another for a German firm, underscoring Brussels’ hardening stance towards Beijing.
The €200 million fine on Temu and the probe into JD.com’s acquisition of an electronics retailer come ahead of a meeting of bloc commissioners today focused on relations with China.
The EU’s executive arm wants to crack down on the Asian power’s alleged unfair trading practices, but member states are divided: France wants to take a harder line, whereas Germany is fearful of losing access to China’s market. “There’s a sense of imminent collapse of industry, of imminent danger,” the head of a top Brussels think tank told The New York Times.
